Danger In New York
by cristinaN
Summary: A Corrupt district attorney and his daughter who pays the ultimate price for her father's betrayal. Two brothers at war and a family divided. Twins Edward/Anthony. Mobward. Mature content, mention of rape, abuse, drug use, prostitution, human trafficking, crime.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

* * *

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers. There is mention of drug use, prostitution, human trafficking, and violence.**_

* * *

 _ **The beginning of the end.**_

 _ **The state of New York district attorney,**_

 _ **Charles Swan.**_

" _The state of New York VS Carlisle Cullen. Has the jury reached a verdict?"_

" _We have, your honor."_

" _What say you?"_

" _We the jury find the defendant, Carlisle Cullen, guilty, your honor."_

 _The silence following the verdict was_ _deafening_ _._

 _Esme's soft sobs broke the silence, they filled the quiet room with an echo and it sliced right through my heart. I didn't dare turn to look at her, I couldn't_ _bear_ _it._

" _NO!" Edward or Anthony yelled, it was hard to tell them apart._

 _Today's verdict was a victory for me and victory for the state. We have managed to take down Carlisle Cullen, but at what cost?_

 _I looked at him, looking at me. His face was an unreadable mask. I had betrayed him, but I had made the right decision. I did my job._

 _Carlisle was a man who trusted very few, and at one point I had earned his trust, but that hadn't made my decision any easier._

 _I have know_ _n_ _Carlisle for many years. We had attended law school together, we had sat_ _for_ _the BAR together. We lost contact shortly after that. It wasn't until I was appointed the state's district attorney, that Carlisle tracked me down._

 _The name Cullen had been well known to me for many years, although during our college days, I never connected Carlisle to it. He was different then. He was happy, carefree. He never mentioned or spoke of his family and there was no reason to suspect anything about him. Cullen was a common name after all, and I was not the sort of person to stereotype, not every Italian is in the mafia._

" _Mr. Cullen will report back_ _on_ _Wednesday_ _next_ _week for sentencing. Members of the jury, the state thanks you for your service, you are dismissed. Court is adjourned."_

 _The hammering of the gravel made me jump, Carlisle didn't blink an eye._

 _I was nervous, I would be a fool if I said I wasn't. He was...Is still a powerful man, not the sort of man you want as an enemy._

 _I did my job. I did my job. I repeated to myself over and over._

" _Please, you can't do this," Esme cried. She had wrapped herself around Carlisle and had refused to let him go._

 _For her I felt pity. For Esme, I felt pain and regret for what I had done. She was a kind, sensitive woman, but she also had her guilt. I destroyed her evidence, someone like her would not survive in the prison system and her crimes were no doubt committed under the influence of her husband._

" _Everything is going to be alright, sweetheart, I promise," Carlisle said, as he tried to console her._

" _No, it's not. Not without you," she cried. My heart broke into a million pieces for her. She clung onto him. The grip she had on him was made of steel. Carlisle wouldn't let go either. In the end, it was her son's who managed to pry her away and the court officers who took Carlisle away._

 _I collected all my papers and documents and placed them into my briefcase. I wanted to leave before they did. I knew Esme would stop me and I knew it was something I would not be able to handle._

" _You," Esme said, fighting out of her son's grip as I walked past them. Detective Uley followed behind me._

" _I'm sorry, Esme," I said, although she and I both knew my apology meant nothing. She slapped me across the face with as much strength as she had. My head snapped to the side from the force. I recovered quickly not showing any emotion, I couldn't, not with Sam behind me._

" _Mrs. Cullen," Sam warned._

" _It's alright detective," I said._

" _I hope you rot in hell," Esme said, as a fresh round of tears flowed down her face._

" _Come on, mom." It was Edward, who put his arms around his mother and took her out of the courtroom._

" _She's got a good arm on her," Sam said. "Put some ice on that when you get back to your office."_

 _The physical pain was nothing. The physical pain would leave, it would go. But the image, Esme's face, her tears, her pain. That will haunt me until the day I die._

 _One by one, Carlisle's family, associates, friends exited the courtroom. One by one, I memorized all_ _of_ _their faces, some I recognized some I didn't. Uley followed after them leaving me alone in the courtroom, or so I thought. Someone cleared their voice behind me._

" _Bravo," he said, clapping his hands. "Well done Swan."_

 _I turned around to come face to face with Anthony, Carlisle's son._

 _There was something that put me off about Anthony from the very first time I met him. It was a bad vibe that he manifested. Something in his eyes, they way he would look at people, sick, sadistic almost._

" _You will regret what you have done to my family," he threatened._

" _You are in no position to make threats, Anthony," I said, and wondered if the boy was an idiot making threats in a courtroom, where our every move and every word_ _was_ _being recorded._

" _I don't make threats, Charles. When I'm through with you, you'll be begging me for mercy."_

 **~DINY~**

" _Something_ _smells good," I said, coming up behind Renee. I kissed her cheek. "What's for dinner?"_

" _Something I saw on the food network," she said, flipping over a piece of chicken in the pan. I laughed and went to the fridge to grab a bottle of wine pouring_ _her and myself_ _a glass._

 _Renee had always been adventurous in the kitchen, sometimes it would work out for her, sometimes not so much._

" _Don't laugh. It's chicken, garlic, cream, a little bit of broccoli. It can't be bad," she laughed along with me. "What happened today?"_

" _You haven't seen the news?" I asked, swinging back my glass of wine._

" _No, is everything ok_ _ay_ _?" She asked, leaving the pan, she gave me her full attention._

" _The_ _jury found him guilty. He'll be sentenced next week." I swung back another glass._

" _Charlie, that's a good thing. Why are you upset? You've put a horrible man in jail where he belongs," Renee said. She took my empty glass and the bottle of wine from me. She was the love of my life, always caring. Renee had a lot of patience_ _for_ _me, more patience than I deserve._

" _I know, but that doesn't make it any_ _easier_ _to deal with."_

" _You thought of him as a friend, and I can understand that Charlie, I really can, but he was a bad person. The things he did Charlie, what he was connected to. You have saved a lot of lives by having him locked away," she said._

" _I know. But...What if...What if it backfired? What if_ _he_ _had walked? I can't stop my mind from wondering, what would happen then?" I said._

" _But it didn't." She sighed, wrapping her arms around me and resting her head on my chest. "You have no right to feel bad about this and I won't let you. You did your job."_

" _I love you," I said, holding her close to me._

" _I love you too."_

 _Her comforting words helped, but they didn't ease my guilt. Renee was right, I had made the right choice. Carlisle was a criminal who had hurt and killed many people, he deserved to be punished for his crimes. He deserved to know he was not above the law._

" _Shit, the chicken," Renee cursed. The smell of the burned meat filled the room as she tried her best to save it, but she gave up, slumping her shoulders._

" _Chinese?" She asked, with a defeated sigh._

" _I'll make the order," I said, kissing her forehead. "Where's Bella?"_

" _I spoke with her an hour ago. She's with Charlotte. She should be back any minute," Renee said._

 _As I waited for our order and our daughter to arrive home, I sat on the couch, my mind going over today's events. I rubbed my eyes in frustration, trying to ease my guilt but nothing helped. Esme's face, the hurt, the anger...anguish._

 _But what did I expect would happen?_

 _This was all my fault because I should have never gotten involved._

 _When Carlisle approached me ten years ago, I thought nothing of it. Nothing more than old friends reconnecting. By that time I had been well aware of his...dealings. But we were friends and he had been good to me._

 _I will never forget how he walked into my office, without any fear of the law enforcement around him, but he is a fearless man. He came to me with a proposition, and his offer was too good to turn down. I wanted to, I should have done the right thing and closed all ties with him then and there, but greed...Greed is powerful and_ _whether_ _we like to admit it or not, we are controlled by greed, it feeds us, it fuels us._

 _Having close access to Carlisle, I had closer access to his work. At first, his trust was quite minimal, but as time went on, he opened up his business to me more, his associates, close contacts._

 _The more that was exposed, the more disgusted I felt. Never, never in a million years would I have thought Carlisle capable or involved in what I had discovered._

 _The drug trade was a given, that was no shock, nor was his weapons trade. But, prostitution, trafficking. It made my skin crawl thinking about it._

 _He offered me a choice,_ _a_ _choice of any woman or girl I wanted. I was quick to refuse, but accepted his offer the second time around. I thought if I could talk_ _to_ _one them, make them trust me, make them open up, offer her protection, maybe I could get to Carlisle another way without involving myself directly._

 _But he had trained them well. Not one spoke, not one said a single word._

 _I have done the right thing, I told myself again. I have made my bed and now I have to lay in it._

 _I opened my eyes and looked at my daughter's picture sitting atop the fireplace. My sweet Isabella, I smiled. She was everything to me and to her mother._

 _We_ _had_ _tried_ _so long for her, and after our third round of failed IVF, we were out of luck and out of money. I was devastated. For so long all Renee and I had wanted was a child of our own, a piece of the two of us together._

 _Renee was the strong one though, she said maybe we weren't supposed to have a child of our own, that maybe there was another purpose for us, that God had another plan for us._

 _But I remember that night on New Year's Eve upstate. It was freezing outside, and I sat on the porch not bothering with the party. It was a crisp and clear evening and the stars were out. With Renee beside me, we rang in the New Year staring at the sky. A shooting star flew across the sky and I made my wish. I guess it worked, because six weeks later we found out Renee was pregnant._

 _Before she was born, Isabella had me wrapped around her finger. For her I would do anything, become anything she wanted, anything she needed._

 _My little girl, I sighed, she wasn't so little anymore. She's almost nineteen, I still don't know where the time went._

 _When did she grow up? When did she become a young woman before my eyes?_

 _I picked up her picture off of the fireplace. She was a spitting image of her mother with light brown hair, porcelain skin, but she had my eyes._

 _She was in her first year of college now. Juilliard. When she received the scholarship, she cried so much, she never believed she would get in. But she was a beautiful dancer, a ballerina. My ballerina._

 _I put her picture back up. Closing my eyes for a brief second, Anthony's face flashed before my eyes. "You'll be begging me for mercy." his words rang out loud and clear in my ears as if he were standing right next to me now._

 _I jumped back almost losing my balance as I checked my watch. Isabella should have been back by now._

" _Renee," I yelled out. A moment later she came running into the room, panicked._

" _What? What is it?"_

" _Bella should have been back by now. Where is she?" I asked, frantic._

" _Oh my goodness, you almost gave me a heart attack, I thought God knows what was happening," she said, with her hand over her heart. "She'll be here soon."_

 _The doorbell rang and my heart dropped to my feet._

" _Who could that be?" Renee wondered._

 _I ran to the front door, every bad scenario playing out in my head as I did. But when I opened the door, everything left me. There was my baby girl, standing right there._

" _What are you doing ringing the doorbell?" I said, pulling her inside._

" _I was in a rush this morning. I woke up late and I forgot my keys," she said. "What's wrong dad?"_

" _Nothing, nothing's wrong, just happy to see you and you're late. It's nine-thirty," I said, shaking my finger, but she didn't fall for that. She laughed at me, hanging up her coat in the closet._

" _I have to finish this assignment for tomorrow, so I'm going to call it a night," she said._

" _Hey honey," Renee said._

" _Mommy," Bella said, kissing her mother on the cheek. "Chinese?" She questioned, as she looked past her mother at the burned pan on the stove. "At least you didn't burn down the kitchen this time."_

" _Don't make fun of your mother," Renee pouted. "Aren't you hungry?"_

" _No, I ate at Charlotte's."_

 _She skipped out of the kitchen carrying her backpack, I followed after her._

" _Bella," I called out. She stopped halfway up the stairs. Dropping her bag, she came back down to me._

" _What is it dad? What's bothering you?" She asked._

" _Nothing's bothering me," I defended._

" _You're a horrible liar dad."_

 _Everything was bothering me. Carlisle. Anthony's threat. My own mind that refused to shut down. Even though detective Uley said he would have a patrol around my house, at least for the next few months, an uneasy feeling settled into the pit of my stomach._

" _I feel like we haven't spent any time together. I miss you, kiddo," I said._

" _Hmm, are you free tomorrow morning? I don't have any classes until after lunch. You can be my breakfast date and we can gossip about all the weird people that walk by us?" She laughed._

" _It's a date," I said. "I love you kiddo."_

 _My little ballerina, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek. "I love you too, dad."_

 _I don't know if it was the loud banging of the front door that woke Renee and I up or if it was the sound of the screeching tires outside._

 _I ran down the stairs, trying the light switch, but the power was out. The front door was wide open. Stepping out on the stoop, the entire street was blacked out._

" _Renee, check on Bella," I called out._

 _The power outage didn't last long, a few seconds later the lights came back on and Renee's echoing scream traveled down the stairs._

 _DINY_

 _I stared at the TV. It was all I could do, all I was capable of doing. It was the only thing that the news talked about now. Her picture was everywhere._

" _It has been one week since the disappearance of eighteen year old Isabella Swan._

 _Isabella, daughter of Charles Swan the state's district attorney, was_

 _taken from her home in the early hours of Thursday morning last week._

 _Police still have no leads on the whereabouts of Miss Swan and are urging the public for help. NYPD Detective Uley, released this statement earlier."_

" _I regret to say that at this time we have no leads. We have not ruled out Charles Swan's connection with the Carlisle Cullen conviction, but we do not have any evidence to suggest that the family is connected in any way to Isabella Swan's disappearance," Uley said._

" _Martha, the Swan home still remains a crime scene here. Just to recap our top story. It has been one week since the disappearance of Isabella Swan. Police are urging anyone with any information about Isabella's whereabouts to come forward and_ _as a_ _reminder a reward is offered."_

 _I threw the remote at the screen,_ _the glass shattered from the screen._ _I fell to my knees with my head in my hands. The pain too much, too raw. One week, one week and nothing, no leads, no sign of her._

 _There was a hole in my heart that grew bigger each day she was away._

 _I knew Carlisle had to be behind this. This was his revenge. Anthony had made a promise for his father. This was their revenge to take my little girl, to use her in their game as if she were an object, as if this was a damn game._

 _Uley, he was doing his best, but right now his best was not enough. My house was full of detectives, FBI and not one of them could find my Bella. Not one of them could connect Anthony to her._

 _They said there was no evidence. They said, everyone they looked into had an alibi for their whereabouts that night. But I knew it, I knew deep in the pit of my stomach that Anthony had her. I knew they had her._

 _Renee was holding herself better than me, she could walk, she could talk. I was a mess. My life, gone, lost. The one thing that was most precious to me was now...I couldn't think about it, I didn't dare. I knew if I thought of the worst, I would sink into a black hole, one that I would not come out of._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

* * *

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN**_

 _I couldn't shake it off this odd feeling as if someone was following me, watching my every move._

 _All week it has been driving me mad. At first, I thought nothing of it. New York_ _City_ _was a small city with a very large population._

 _There were over eight million people in New York_ _City_ _on any given day, the chances were someone was looking at you._

 _Today was different, I noticed things, things that may be the cause of this sudden feeling of dread. I felt scared even though I don't know what for. I felt panicked, but I don't know what there was to be panicked about._

 _I noticed the car that seemed to appear everywhere I was. It was parked out front when I left the house this morning. It was outside the cafe as I waited for my coffee._

 _I noticed the man leaning against the hood of the car smoking a cigarette while another sat in the driver's seat staring straight ahead._

 _By lunchtime, I was freaked out. The same car was outside the college as I left with Charlotte for lunch and as we ate, it was parked opposite the dinner too._

 _I memorized the plates of the silver Lexus. I memorized the man leaning against the hood of the car. His blonde wavy hair pulled back into a ponytail. His RayBan's with the reflective lenses. His dark jeans, gray sweater and leather jacket. Everything about him screamed danger._

 _But surely he couldn't be following me? This was paranoia, it had to be. Why would anyone follow me?_

 _But by the time Charlotte and I finished lunch, when I looked back out_ _of_ _the window, the man and the car were gone, nowhere in sight._

 _I let out a big sigh of relief,_ _much_ _to Charlotte's questioning glare. I felt almost euphoric realizing that my panic had been for nothing._

" _You okay?" Charlotte asked._

" _Never better," I said._

" _You've been acting weird all day. Spit it out Swan."_

" _I have not been acting weird," I said, throwing a scrunched up napkin at her. "I have to go, I've got practice. I'll see you later alright." I stood up and put some money down on the table and put my coat on._

" _You are my lifesaver. I'll be in your debt till the day I die," she said, blowing me a kiss._

 _Charlotte had a big assignment due tomorrow, and she has done zero work on it._ _College_ _wasn't really Charlotte's thing. She_ _had struggled with her school work_ _since the start of the semester. I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't help her out._

 _Charlotte was a great friend, but she was more interested in having fun. In many ways_ _she_ _and I were_ _complete_ _opposites. She liked the clubs, and I liked my quiet time. She had tried to convince me on more than one occasion to come out with her, but the idea of sweaty bodies bumping and grinding together was enough to put me off._

 _It's not that I didn't like to have fun, but_ _she_ _and I sometimes have a different idea of what_ _is_ _fun._

" _I'll see you later," I said, kissing her on the cheek as she attempted to give an awkward hug from her seated position._

 _Dancing was more than just an outlet for me, it was a passion. My mother had taken me to my first ballet lesson at the age of three and I haven't stopped since._

 _I have always been a shy person, I never enjoyed attention or praise._

 _But whenever I perform on stage I feel almost liberated. I close my eyes and shut myself off from the world._

 _I can easily forget I am dancing in front of hundreds of people, because when I'm on stage, it's only me and the music_ _that_ _I hear_ _and_ _see. Sometimes the audience applause_ _s_ _and the spotlight startles me back to reality._

 _I had received a scholarship to Juilliard for my dancing and I had never in a million years thought that I would get in. It was an honor_ _that_ _I would not take for granted._

 _By the end of practice, I was beat. My feet and toes were killing me as was my back, but it was worth the pain. Mr. Cole, the ballet director had assigned me a part in his college production of_ _Coppélia and he had given me the part of Coppélia herself. I was speechless to be given such a role, but grateful nonetheless._

" _Isabella, you need to better your brisé. When you are up, you have a tendency to bend your knee. Keep it straight," Mr Cole said. "Alright, I shall see you all tomorrow."_

 ** _~DINY~_**

 _My parent's have always been crazy, and crazy in love with each other. No matter what life threw at them, they faced it together. I always hope that one day I will be able to find some_ _one who will love me with as much passion and intensity as my father loves my mother. He loves her even though she's almost burnt the house down on more than one occasion._

 _As I walked into the kitchen the sight and smell of the burnt meat in the pan made me laugh, as too did the containers of Chinese food spread out on the bench._

" _Chinese?" I questioned. "At least you didn't burn the kitchen down this time." Mom was never a good cook, she managed to burn toast most mornings. She had tried all the cooking classes, but it didn't make any difference. Cooking was something that she didn't like doing no matter how hard she forced herself to try. Looking down at the now cold Chinese food, I was thankful I had_ _ate_ _dinner at Charlotte's._

" _Don't make fun of your mother. Aren't you hungry?" Mom asked._

" _No, I ate at Charlotte's," I said, leaving my parents in the kitchen. I was halfway up the stairs when dad called me back._

" _Bella."_

 _I turned back around to look at my father and ran down the stairs into his arms. He looked so stressed, so worried. He's been working on a really big case for over a year now, that's about all I know. But whatever the case was about, it's taken a lot out of him. He's never spoken to me about his_ _cases_ _, no matter how much I tried to push him for information. He would sometimes tell me bits and pieces, things that he thought were alright for me to hear, but with this case I got nothing._

" _What is it dad? What's bothering you?" I asked._

" _Nothing's bothering me." He defended._

" _You're a horrible liar, dad."_

 _Charlie has always been the sort of father that you'd read about in books, or only existed on the good TV shows. In eighteen years he's never once missed one of my performances, he's always been there front row center and he always cried._

" _I feel like we haven't spent any time together. I miss you, kiddo," he said._

" _Hmm, are you free tomorrow morning? I don't have any classes until after lunch. You can be my breakfast date and we can gossip about all the weird people that walk by us?" I laughed._

" _It's a date," he said. "I love you kiddo."_

 _I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you too, dad."_

 _Some time during the night, I jolted awake. I felt as if I couldn't breath, as if there was something heavy on top of me._

 _There was someone hovering on top of me straddling my waist, he had one hand secured over my mouth while with his other he had my wrists locked in a vise grip._

 _I tried to make out the person's face, but it was too dark, there was no light coming from the window even though I had left the blinds open. My TV, I was sure I had left it on, was now_ _turned off_ _. My bedroom door was wide open, but there was no light, no sound coming from the hall._

 _I screamed as loud as I could, but there was no point, the sound was muffled by his hand. I tried to kick, to somehow wriggle out of his grasp, but it was a pointless task. In_ _the position he was in,_ _his knees trapped my thighs in such a way I could not even lift my knee up._

" _Shh," he said. "What's our time?" He spoke, although not to me._

" _Three forty two," someone else, another man said._

 _I tried to turn my head in the direction of the other person in here with us. From the corner of my eye I could make out a tall shadow. The shadow was holding a gun and that gun was pointed at me._

 _He's going to kill me, I thought. I screamed, I sobbed as much and as loud as I could against the hand that covered my mouth. I tried moving my body in whatever direction I could get it to move, but there was no use. The man above me was to big, to strong._

 _My heart was beating so fast, my head was spinning. I was going to die, they were going to kill me, right?_

" _Stop moving," the shadow on top of me said. "Listen to me very carefully, Isabella." How did he know my name?_

" _I'm not gonna hurt you, but my friend over there," he said, gesturing with his head in the other man's direction. "He's a little trigger happy. He won't have a problem killing you and then he'll go and he'll kill your mommy and daddy too."_

 _I sobbed harder into his hand. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. This had to be some horrible dream. Yes, that's what it is, a horrible dream, a dream where I am going to wake from any second now._

" _This is what we're going to do. I'm gonna take my hand off your mouth. If you say one fucking word, if you scream, he'll kill you. You got that sweetheart?"_

 _I nodded my head. Slowly he removed his hand from my mouth. I took a deep breath. The man with the gun now stood right by my bed._

" _I am going to get off of you and you are going to get up and you are going to come with me."_

" _Please," I whispered through my tears. He grabbed a hold of my chin roughly._

" _I told you not to say a word," he hissed. "Sweetheart, we can do this the easy way,_ _where_ _you walk out with us without a fight or we do it the very hard way," he threatened._

 _I didn't want to find out what the hard way was. As he let go of my arms and climbed off of me, he pulled me up to my feet._

 _I didn't fight, I couldn't. I thought of_ _my_ _mom and dad, of them doing something to them, hurting them or worse._

 _There was no escape, not for me at least._

" _Good girl," he said. He pushed me towards the door. The man holding the gun stood behind me with the barrel of the gun pushed into my lower back. I fought back a sob that threatened to rip through me. I would keep quiet, for_ _my_ _mom and dad, for their life._

 _We went down the stairs. I held my breath, the fifth stair from the top had loose board that would squeak if someone stepped in the right spot. I prayed that I didn't, I prayed that they didn't. I was thankful when we made it down without a sound, mom and dad's bedroom door was opened._

 _How had these monsters gotten into our home? We had an alarm, with dad's line of work, he was sometimes a little paranoid and overprotective. Dad would always set the alarm every single night, he never once forgot. How did they get into our home undetected?_

 _Out the front door. We went out the front door._

 _There it was at the bottom of our stoop, the silver Lexus I had seen_ _earlier_ _that day. These were the men that were following me._

 _The blonde man, and his driver, they had been following me, I was right._

 _I tried to get a better look at the blonde man in front of me, but there was no light anywhere on the street, it looked like a blackout, that's why our alarm didn't work, that's how they got in._

 _The blonde man opened the back door and the other pushed me in._ _He_ _climbed in beside me while the other_ _man_ _climbed into the driver's seat. The car sped off down the street and behind us, another car appeared from out of nowhere._

 _As the car drove away, the streets became illuminated, a faint light shone in the car. I could see his face for the first time. He looked back at me with cold blue eyes, his face was dead serious. He had a scar below his left eye about one inch long._

" _I have her," he said, speaking into his phone. He opened the window and threw the phone out, the car behind us flattening the device._

" _Stop crying, it's not going to help you," he said._

" _What do you want from me?" I cried, my fingers digging into the leather seats._

 _He shrugged, never offering me an answer. I turned my whole body in his direction when he took a long rectangular box out of his leather jacket._

 _He opened it up to reveal a syringe. Pure fear and adrenaline struck me. I moved to the other side of the car and tried the handle, but the door was blocked._

" _Stop it," he warned. "I'm not drugging you. It's nothing bad, it's only going to put you to sleep."_

 _Was that supposed to make me feel better? Was I supposed to move next to him and let him inject me with god knows what?_

 _I couldn't fight, I should have known that, I had nowhere to go, no escape. He pushed me down on the backseat, his whole body covered mine. I screamed in his ear as I felt the prick of the needle in my arm._

 _My body became heavy, my legs felt like jello. I fought against it for as long as I could, but the darkness won._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ANTHONY CULLEN.**_

 _How the mighty crumble._

 _Guilty!_

 _Carlisle Cullen, my father, my blood. A powerful man reduced to a prisoner with one word, guilty._

 _Twelve insignificant people. Twelve jurors found my father guilty. Twelve people who will be punished for wronging my family._

 _My mother, my beautiful mother, reduced to nothing but tears and sorrow and heartache with a single word. Guilty!_

 _How she will survive without my father, I do not know. She loves him very much, and he would move the world for her._

 _She openly sobbed, refusing to let her love go. He couldn't bear to let her go either._

 _The scene before me was painful. It would break my heart if I still had a heart._

 _Edward, my twin brother, we exchanged a knowing look. We needed to do something, we had to take our mother out of here._

 _She was a strong woman. Both Edward and I struggled to remove her grip from our father's neck._

 _Our mother sobbed quietly as the court officer led our father away._

 _My mother was always a strong woman, strong and fearless. To witness her reduced to nothing but a tearful mess made my blood boil._

 _Edward wrapped his arm around her, walking her out of the courtroom, our sister, Rosalie held onto his other hand as she wiped her eyes._

 _Charles was the last to leave. He did not notice me standing behind him._

 _Charles Swan, the reason we were here today, the reason my father's freedom was taken away, the reason for his fall._

 _Charles is a traitor. My father had been foolish to trust him. He had not made him take The Omerta, there were no contracts signed. Whatever Charles witnessed, he was free to pass along._

" _Bravo," I said, giving Charles a round of applause. "Well done Swan."_

 _He was afraid of me, he always has been. I found humor in it. But he was right to fear me and he would be a fool if he did not hold some degree of fear. Charles held himself together though, and he held himself well. The stupid fool._

" _You will regret what you have done to my family," I warned._

" _You are in no position to make threats, Anthony," he said._

 _I had never made a threat without keeping true to my word. Did Charles think he could walk away after his betrayal without any repercussions? Did he think_ _that_ _he was untouchable because of the position he held?_

" _I don't make threats, Charles. When I'm through with you, you'll be begging me for mercy."_

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _Isabella Swan. What a precious little gem she was to Charles. She was a beautiful girl. She had a beautiful body, she was a dancer of some sort, a Juilliard student._

 _A wicked smile came to my face thinking about the little gem._

 _Payback, retribution, revenge. It was unfortunate for her that she would be the one to suffer the consequences. She was an innocent party in this situation, her only crime, sharing Charles's blood, blood that I would take great joy in spilling._

" _Uncy Antty." Sofia, my niece, my sister's daughter ran to me. What the hell is she doing up at this time? I asked myself._

 _I cannot stand children, but this one was different. She wasn't the_ _whining_ _, snotty face, dirty child, Sofia was a delicate little flower. With curly blond hair and bright blue eyes,_ _with_ _rosy cheeks to_ _o_ _, she looked almost evil, like a beautiful demon child come to earth to tempt humanity._

" _What do you want?" I said. She held her little arms up to me. I've never picked her up, I've never held her._ _She_ _a_ _nd I, we ha_ _d our own understanding. I grabbed my wallet and took out a few hundred dollar bills and held them towards her. The little brat snatched them out of my hand as if she'd seen the holy grail._

" _Pleasure doing business with you," the little brat said, with perfect pronunciation as she_ _skipped_ _away._

" _What the hell Anthony, five hundred dollars? She's five," my sister said._

" _She's a Cullen, dear sister. She needs to learn from_ _early on_ _that men are to give her whatever she wants." I may not like children, but Sofia was my blood, my sister's little girl and no matter what I_ _felt about children_ _, we would protect her._

" _She's five, Anthony, five." She glared at me._

" _Where's mom?" Edward asked._

" _I gave her some pills and put her to bed," Rosalie said._

" _What are we going to do?" Emmett, my brother in law asked. "How much do you think they're going to give him?"_

" _Fifteen, maybe twenty, and that's if we're lucky," Rosalie said. My sister was a criminal defense attorney. Our father had refused to let her be apart of his defense team. Even though it hurt her, Rosalie didn't argue with him._

" _Can we appeal?" I asked._

" _We can, but it could backfire on us. I'm going to try my best," she sighed._

" _What the fuck do you mean, you're going to try your best?" I yelled. "We need more than your fucking best, Rosalie. That's our father."_

" _Anthony, calm down, it's not her fault," Edward said, patting me on the back. He handed me a glass of liquor._

" _That's right, you idiot, it's not my fault. It wouldn't be a big problem if the evidence against him weren't so strong. I'm going to need all the files. I'm going…" Rosalie sighed, rubbing her head._

" _Yeah, just do it." I left them inside. I took the open bottle of liquor with_ _me_ _and a cigar. I went outside and sat on the steps of the patio._

 _I closed my eyes as the cold air hit my face. Jasper better not fuck this up, I thought._

 _I knew this would happen. Edward and I knew that dad couldn't get out of this, but that didn't mean we didn't hope._

 _Since Monday morning, I have had Jasper follow Charles's daughter. I wanted her every step, her every move watched._

 _I wanted a different outcome for the trial today, but it's just unfortunate for Isabella that things didn't work out that way._

 _As soon as the trial was over I gave Jasper the order. Grab the girl, unharmed. No one touches her but me._

 _I took a long puff of the cigar. I felt almost giddy thinking about it. I could not wait. The thought of her blood on my hands was enough to get me high._

" _What the hell are you doing out here?" Edward said. He sat down beside me, taking my bottle away._

" _What the fuck does it look like I'm doing?" I said, pissed off that he had ruined my daydream._

" _We're going to have to call a sit down. We need to hammer things out," my brother said._

 _A fucking sit down, why? So he could announce his triumph? My brother would take over because he was two minutes older than me. As if that should make a fucking difference. I know I'm better. It should be me rising to Don, not Edward._

" _Set it up," I said._

" _Are you gonna sit out here and drink yourself into a coma?" He asked._

" _What the fuck is it to you?" I slurred._

" _What the fuck are you up to?" He asked. Edward knew me better than I knew myself. Being a twin, we did have that connection shit that everyone talked about. We felt things together, we knew when the other was in trouble or needed help. Growing up it was a blessing, but now, now that we are adults, it was a pain in my ass._

" _I'm not up to anything, brother,"_ I shrugged. Making a line from the cocaine on the stone steps.

" _Funny that you say that, cause you've had Jasper running around all week. You're up to something, Anthony," Edward said, wiping my coke away with his shoe. "Don't do something stupid, not right now,_ _they're_ _going to be watching us like hawks."_

 _A screeching melody sounded around us._ _I had purchased two untraceable phones,_ _I had given Jasper_ _one_ _and I had the_ _other_ _. He was to call me the moment he had the job done, or if something went wrong. For his sake, I hope_ _he hasn't_ _fucked up._

 _I answered but said nothing. My brother looked at me with questioning eyes, his arms folded as he chewed the inside of his cheek._

" _I have her," Jasper said and the phone clicked. I stood up, leaving the phone on the ground and_ _then I_ _stomped it into rubble._

" _Too late," I said, staring my brother in the eyes._

" _What the fuck have you done?" He asked, grabbing my arm._

" _When I'm through...Charles will beg for death."_

 _For a moment it appeared as if we were locked in a silent death match. Edward and I had...different ways of dealing with situations. Edward would have sought revenge on Charles and his wife, but where was the fun in that? Charles wouldn't suffer. Death would be easy, pain free. I would not lay a hand on Charles or his wife because that would not_ _be_ _revenge._

 _No, revenge was in the form of a little girl. Revenge was in the form of the one thing Charles valued the most, the one thing he loved the most. His most precious possession, his most treasured gem._

" _What the hell have you done, Anthony?" My sister's angry voice broke my brother and I stare_ _off_ _._

 _I loved my sister, but Rosalie had a very big_ _tendency_ _to put her nose where it did not belong. My father had always tried to keep her out of family matters, but she was a stubborn one. This was one of those issues that Rosalie didn't need to know about, because they would come for us. Now, Rosalie was a good liar, but her morality and her sympathy led her in the wrong direction sometimes. She would never rat me out, quite the opposite, but would she be convincing enough when the FBI came knocking?_

" _How long have you been standing there?" Edward asked, he was as angry as I was with our sister's eavesdropping._

" _Long enough. What the hell are you planning Anthony? Or should I say, what have you done?"_

" _Go put your daughter to bed Rose," I said. She followed after me as I collected my keys and went to the garage._

" _Anthony, get back here and talk to me," she called after me. I turned to her and stood right in her face._

" _The only thing you need to worry about dear sister, is getting our father out of that shit hole," I said through gritted teeth._

" _Whatever you have done, concerns all of us. What. Have. You. Done?" Rosalie could put up one hell of a fight, in fact, she could match Edward and I, but she never knew her limit, when to stop asking questions and when to stop pushing. Sometimes Rosalie required a more hands on approach. I grabbed her shoulders and backed her up slamming her into the wall._

" _Get your fucking hands off of me," she yelled._

" _Anthony, what the fuck?" Edward said, his hands_ _were_ _on my shoulders, trying to pull me off of our sister. Emmett came running into the room when he heard the commotion._

" _Hey," he yelled._

 _I let go of Rosalie and pushed her in Emmett's direction. Edward let me go then and followed after me in_ _to_ _the garage._

" _Where are you going?" He asked._

" _I'm going to see a friend," I said. "You are more than welcomed to join me."_

 _I felt like a child on Christmas morning as I pulled the car outside the bar. It was_ _either very_ _late or_ _very_ _early_ _at_ _four in the morning. Edward and I went down the back alleyway. Jasper waited for us by the large steel door._

" _Did you have any issues?" I asked._

" _None at all," he said._

" _Who's with her now?"_

" _Her?" Edward questioned._

" _You didn't tell him?" Jasper questioned._

" _That's not your fucking business. I asked you a question."_

" _James is down there with her. I think she's still out though," he shrugged._

" _And Marcus?"_

" _Disposing of the car like you ordered," Jasper said, shuffling from foot to foot._

" _Stay out here, I'll be back soon," I said. I motioned for Edward to follow after me._

 _We followed the hallway down to the end and opened the door that would take us down to the basement. It was colder_ _down_ _here and there was no heating._

" _Why do I get the feeling I'm about to shoot you?" Edward said._

" _Nah, you're gonna love me," I said, opening the door to the basement._

 _James shot up out of his chair when I opened the door._

" _Boss," he said._

" _Fuck, Anthony," Edward groaned._

 _There she was, the little gem herself, curled up on the mattress on the floor. Her body was trembling from the cold. Her quiet groans filled the room. The effect of the drug should be wearing off, it was only a mild sedative._

 _I walked over to the mattress and crouched down to her level. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she stared back at me._

 _Her frightened little eyes, wide with shock, with raw fear. She tried her very best to lift her body up, to get away from me, but the sedative still had her weak._

 _Oh the poor little lamb, I thought. Look at her, her body trembling, fear radiating from her. It was marvelous. I reached out to her, threaded my fingers into her hair and pulled her head up off of the mattress. She let out a small pathetic whimper._

" _Hello, Isabella."_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **This chapter contains graphic violence and may offend some people. Please do not read if this offends you.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN.**_

 _Eyes, piercing green eyes looked down on me. They were beautiful, yet cold as ice._

 _I tried to move back and away from him, but the effect of whatever I had been given still wore heavy on me. My mind was still foggy, my muscles_ _were_ _refusing to move._

 _For a moment, I wondered if this had all been a bad dream. Any moment now I expected to wake up in my room, in my home._

 _But the cold I felt, that could not be dream. Here, wherever here was, felt as ice cold as the eyes looking down on me._

 _The pain was real, the pain was not a dream._

 _The cold eyed monster's fingers threaded through my hair, his fingernails scraping against my scalp._

 _I whimpered at the sudden and harsh contact, which seemed to make him happy._

 _I was too weak, too cowardly to fight back as he pulled on my hair, bringing our faces impossibly close together._

" _Hello, Isabella," he said, addressing me by name. How could that be? How did this monster know my name?_

 _His face held no familiarity to me, yet he knew me._

" _Oh little lamb," he said, sucking on his bottom lip. "You are very beautiful Isabella. It's almost a shame." He released his vise grip on my hair. My hand went up to the spot where he had hurt me._

 _Whatever I had been given, was starting to wear off, the fog was lifting and I could see him with clear eyes. He was tall and dressed in a black suit with a warm coat on top. His shoes were impeccable, polished to perfection. He had a defined jaw line with the hint of stubble. He stood with his back to me, speaking with someone else, we were not alone here._

 _On my right, another man sat on a metal chair. He wasn't_ _dressed_ _as formal in his denim, thick winter jacket and boots. The very dim lighting in this room made it near_ _ly_ _impossible to make out any specific feature_ _s_ _. But I knew this man wasn't my kidnapper. This man was much taller than the blonde one, with broader shoulders and a wider back._

 _This man didn't look as threatening as the cold eyed monster. He didn't mind me staring back at him, he even offered me an apologetic smile._

" _You are out of your fucking mind, Anthony," someone yelled._

" _Brother, if I didn't know any better, I would think you don't want retribution for our father," Anthony said. Anthony, the monster's name was Anthony._

" _It's not even been twenty-four hours. Where's the first place you think they're going to come?" the other spoke. Although it was hard to distinguish between the two voices, both sounded very much alike._

 _The angry man opened the door with force causing a gush of wind in my direction, making my already cold body tremble more. I had nothing on but my pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt, no socks, nothing else to keep me warm._

" _Where the hell are you going Edward?" Anthony called out._

" _To see what the feds are up to," the angry man called out._

 _Anthony, slammed the door. With his back turned, he cracked his neck before very slowly turning his attention back to me. I crawled back until I was in the corner of the room. I was trapped here. There was no possible way out of this, there was two of them and one of me and I was nowhere near as strong_ _as they were_ _._

" _Stand up," Anthony said._

 _I shook my head. I wrapped my arms around my knees, curling up into a ball, as if that somehow would protect me, as if it would make me invisible to this man._

" _I said, stand up," he said again, slowly, precisely each word spoken with menacing fear. What if I refused, what would he do? But if I do follow his order, what then?_

" _Stand the fuck up, Isabella," he yelled, his voice vibrating off of the walls, echoing around the cold room._

 _With shaky feet, I stood up using the wall for support. My entire body was trembling, although I couldn't tell if it was from the cold or out of pure fear._

" _Come here, little lamb." He motioned with his finger. "Don't make me repeat myself," he warned._

 _With no choice and no way out, I slowly made my way to him. The room wasn't very big, although it seemed to take me forever to reach him. I didn't understand any of this. What had I done? Why was I here? Please God, help me, someone, anyone, I cried silently to myself._

 _I stopped, keeping an arm's length between us. His eyes traveled up and down my body. The sound of his shoes hitting the floor, the noise reverberating off of the walls made my stomach clench. Round and round he_ _walked_ _around me, so many times that I had lost count, he was making me dizzy, yet he seemed unfazed._

" _Do you know why you're here, little lamb?" He asked, twirling a strand of my hair in between his fingers. I shook my head. "Answer," he hissed._

" _No," I said quickly._

" _Hmm. You know, little lamb, we live in a world full of corruption. There is no such thing as the hard working innocent anymore. Everybody has their price, and no matter what, they all accept. Wherever they do it out of greed, out of poverty, or out of careless stupidity. For one reason or another, little lamb, they all fall to the mighty," he said._

 _To me, none of what he had said made any sense, it's as if he were speaking in a riddle. None of what he had said gave any indication as to why I was here._

" _Oh," he chuckled, cupping my face in his warm hands. He wiped away at my tears. "How beautiful it would be to be ignorant of the world around me, little lamb. Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury."_

" _Please, what do you want from me?" I cried as a fresh round of tears spilled over and onto his fingers. His eyes narrowed and his grip on my face became impossibly tight, his fingers digging into my cheeks._

" _I want to hear you cry," he said, licking his lips. "I want you to beg me. I want you to plead for your life."_

 _I couldn't breath. I shook violently from the effect of his words. I did not know this man, but I knew he meant every word he spoke, and as if to prove his point, he let go of me, I stumbled back slightly only to fall over when the back of his hand made contact with my face. The pain was like nothing I had ever felt before. I have never been hit, I have never gotten into a fight. I have never had a hand laid on me, until now. I could taste blood in my mouth._

 _I moved away, crawling back to the mattress and as far from him as I could get. But he wouldn't leave me be._

 _He grabbed my arm and pulled me up roughly, slamming my back up against the cold wall. My head hit the concrete and bounced off, it made my vision blur and for a moment I thought I saw stars._

" _How does that feel, little lamb?" He asked, his warm breath fanning over my face._

" _Pl...ple...please," I begged, I cried, I didn't know what I was doing anymore. The pain in my head was almost unbearable._

" _That's right, beg, beg, little lamb, beg," he whispered. "But it won't be enough. No, no, it will never be enough," he said, releasing me, I fell in a heap on the floor at his feet. "Fucking pathetic," he spat. His shoe made contact with my rib. It was one swift kick, one kick that made all the air leave my body and had me writhing in pain on the floor._

" _Clean her up," I heard him say. The sound of the heavy door opening and closing echoed. Had he gone or was this a sick game to him? I couldn't and wouldn't open my eyes._

 _I heard a set of footsteps moving around me. With one eye open, I saw him standing over me. This wasn't Anthony, but the man in the boots. What was his mission here, what was his role? Was he here to hurt me too, or worse?_

 _He left my side only to appear seconds later. He kneeled down beside me, setting a bag next to him._

" _Can you sit up?" He asked in a soft voice._

" _Why?" I asked. What did I have to lose? If he was going to hurt me, what could I do to stop him?_

" _Because your head is bleeding and we need to bandage you up before you lose too much blood."_

 _Why would it matter to him if I were hurt or bleeding?_

" _I'm not going to hurt you. Please can you sit up," he said again with the same gentleness. I opened my eyes to look at him. He looked young, although older than me, maybe late twenties. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes and a scar_ _that went from the corner of his right eye down his face and stopped an inch before his mouth._

 _I swallowed the lump in my throat and slowly pushed myself up, wincing when I turned my body slightly._

" _I'm James," he said._

 _I nodded wrapping my arms around myself. I was freezing. James took his jacket off and put it over my shoulders._

" _I'm bleeding," I said. "It will stain your jacket."_

" _It's just a jacket, Isabella," he said. "Now, let me have a look." With my head bent forward, he moved his fingers through my hair with the gentlest of touch. He poured antiseptic on the wound, cleaned it out, and held a compression against it._

" _I don't have anything I can put over it. It's not deep, so this will do." He smiled._

" _I can do it," I said, wanting him to move away from me. Even though he had shown me kindness now, that didn't mean trust._

" _Thank you, James," I said._

 _I kept looking at the big heavy door. I was waiting for the green eyed monster to_ _waltz_ _back in here, to hurt me again, to...The thought... the thought of him alone made my body start to tremble again as a fresh round of sobs escaped me._

" _Hey, calm down, he's not coming back, not today at least," James said._

" _Today?" What was the time?_ _Not_ _today, but he would come back._

" _I'm sorry, Isabella. If I could help you out at all I would," he said, reaching to my side, he took out a packet of tissues from his jacket._

" _Let me go, please, I'll do anything, please," I cried._

" _I can't." He sighed._

" _Why am I here, James? Who is he?"_

" _I can't tell you that."_

 _I wanted to scream. None of this made any sense to me. Why was I here? What did Anthony want with me?_

 _Were my mom and dad alright? Had the blonde man really left them alone, or did someone else go and hurt them?_

 _I crawled away from James and_ _crawled_ _back onto the mattress, I didn't care that it was filthy, as long as he wouldn't come next to me._

 _~DINY~_

 _Hours, maybe_ _a_ _day, or it could have been a week passed. I had no idea what day it was or what time, if it was morning or night. James didn't tell me a thing._

 _Anthony didn't come back, and for that I was the most grateful._

 _James was always down here with me. There were moments when he would leave me alone in here, but I knew that there was someone outside the door, I could hear their voices, their laughter. They were telling jokes and I was being held prisoner, what was wrong with these people?_

 _James always had someone bring down food for the both of us. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make me eat. I couldn't stomach it. James wasn't happy, but he gave up pushing me._

 _I got up from the floor and locked myself in the bathroom. There was a bathroom in here the size of a matchbox. It was rusted and filthy, there was no window, only a vent and it wasn't big enough to crawl through._

 _I sighed as I looked at my reflection in the dirty mirror. My face was still bruised where Anthony had struck me, I had black circles under my eyes. My hair was a mess and I still had on my pyjamas and James's jacket._

 _I had to get out of here somehow, I had to. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I don't know what's going to happen the next time Anthony shows up and I don't want to wait around to find out._

 _Why hasn't anyone come for me? Were they not looking for me?_

 _No, my father had to be going crazy, I'm sure he would have the entire NYPD out looking for me, wouldn't he?_

 _The bathroom door was violently pulled open. James was frantic. He pulled me roughly out of the bathroom._

" _What's going on?" I asked. I hadn't seen him lose his calm before, he was_ _frantic_ _._

" _I said, shut up," he whispered and yelled._

 _What the hell was going on? Above us, I could hear loud banging and heavy footsteps._

" _NYPD, everybody down."_

 _I gasped. I was saved, they came for me. They were here for me they had to be. I fought against James, trying to break free from his hold. There was a part of the room, under the stairs that led down into the room. James pushed against the wall. On the other side was nothing but darkness, he pushed me in first._

" _Let me out. Let me go please," I yelled. I hoped someone could hear me._

" _Shut the fuck up," he seethed._

 _He clamped his hand over my mouth and wrapped one arm tightly against my torso. He twisted me around, pushed my front up against the cold concrete._

" _NYPD, everybody down," I heard again, this time more clear. I fought with everything in me against James. One small sound, that would be all I needed to make,_ _just_ _one small sound._

" _All clear," someone called._

" _Damn it. Get forensics down here anyway, someone's clearly been here."_

 _James's hand muffled my screams. I was trapped between his body and the wall. He had one of his legs twisted around mine in an odd position, making any sort of movement on my part impossible._

" _Clear out." Those two words shattered my heart. I had been this close to freedom. They were here, right here next to me._

 _I cried into James's hand. I hope he would rot in hell. He could have left and saved himself and left me here. He could have let them take me away. He was nice to me, I would have kept my mouth shut about him._

 _One by one the footsteps became faint until no sound could be heard. It was dead quiet, you could hear a pin drop._

 _Any chance there was of me getting out of here, vanished. Every ounce of hope I had, left me._

 _There was no hope, not for me._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN**_

 _In our twenty-nine years together, my brother has always been the reckless one. Anthony was the person that fired the rounds first and worried about the consequences after_ _ward_ _,_ _that was only_ _if he_ _worried_ _at all._

 _This was exactly the sort of thing I had expected from Anthony. But I would have never believed him stupid enough to commit the crime not twenty-four hours after our father's conviction._

 _Anthony's recklessness will be his ultimate downfall, it will likely get him killed and that was the reason our father worried about him the most._

 _Since Kate betrayed him, since he killed her, he hasn't been the same. He loved her and she ruined him. He's been reckless ever since._

 _Anthony loved Kate to an unhealthy point. They had the sort of love_ _that_ _cheap romance movies are based upon, powerful and strong. Now, my brother isn't the type of man to walk around with flowers and candies, but for Kate, he gave her everything and more._

 _Kate betrayed him, she betrayed us all. But for Anthony to take her life so easily, it was unsettling to watch him look into her eyes and pull the trigger and then fall to his knees. Anthony never cried for Kate, and he never mourned her._

 _We don't talk about this anymore, this is a chapter of his Anthony's life that we wouldn't dare bring up again, not around him at least. He hasn't been the same since._

 _Back inside the house, it was dead quiet. It was a quarter past five in the morning. At this point, I haven't slept in over thirty hours, and I don't think I'll be getting any sleep soon._

 _Mom was still out cold. I tiptoed into her ensuite trying to make as little noise as possible. In the bathroom cabinet on dad's side, tucked away in the back, he had his 'special pink pills' as he called them. Take one of these and the last thing you'll be thinking about is sleep._

 _I swallowed the pink tablet and pocketed the bottle. Tiptoeing back out of the room._

" _Good morning, Mr. Cullen," Renta_ _said, she was_ _my parents house keeper. Renta has been with my father for many years. Her family has worked for ours for many decades. Renta was an incredible woman, and now at the age of sixty-seven, she was still going strong and showed no sign of slowing down._

" _Morning," I mumbled._

" _You need coffee and something to eat, come with me," she said._

 _Renta made breakfast, while I sat staring into space, sipping on coffee. I'm waiting for the storm from Anthony's actions to hit us._

 _Charles Swan needed to be punished for his betrayal, that was a given. We are not the sort of people that would ever give a second chance. Swan signed his own death certificate with his betrayal._

" _Edward, what's wrong? What's the matter?" Renta asked._

" _Nothing, I'm worried about mom and how she's going to get on without dad here," I said. It was not a complete lie, I was very worried about my mother._

" _Your mother is going to have to deal with it. The man is not dead, he is only in jail until Miss Rosalie finds a way to get him out. Your mother will be just fine, and we all need to stop walking on eggshells around her about this," Renta said._

" _And if Rosalie isn't able to do anything?" I had faith in my sister, and she had the determination to put in the appeal, but as she said last night, with such strong evidence against our father, it will be a challenge to produce a convincing case._

" _Give your sister some credit. She loves her father too much to leave him in a place like that for long. I have faith in her, and you and Anthony need to have the same faith too. Finish your breakfast, I'm going to go and check on little Sofia," she said, kissing the top of my head._

 _By eight am, Isabella's disappearance made breaking news. Her picture was on every news and TV station. Charles's home had been turned into a crime scene and the street had been placed into lockdown. There was no CCTV footage, Anthony had taken care of that. At this point, they had no suspects and no evidence to point the finger in our direction._

 **"** ** _Breaking News, police have locked down a street in lower Manhattan_**

 ** _and the home of the state's district attorney has been turned into_**

 ** _a crime scene._**

 ** _Isabella Swan, the daughter of DA Charles Swan, is believed to have been_**

 ** _forcibly taken from her home in the early hours_**

 ** _of this morning._**

 ** _At this time police have no suspects. We will keep you up to_**

 ** _date as more information becomes available._**

 ** _In other news….."_**

" _Please tell me that you and Anthony had nothing to do with that girl's disappearance?" Mom asked. Jesus, she looked horrible. She had dark circles under her eyes, she looked as if she hadn't stopped crying all night._

" _Don't be ridiculous, mom," I said, kissing her on the cheek._

" _Don't lie to me, Edward," she warned._

" _Mom, I'm sure Charles had plenty of enemies other than us. Anthony and I didn't take anyone," I said. My mother had an uncanny ability to read right through our lies, and not only her children's, but my father included._

 _She didn't believe me, I could see it in her eyes, that knowing look, she knew I was lying, but she didn't ask any more questions. The less she knew the better._

 ** _~DINY~_**

 _They came for us like I knew they would. But unlike previous times, they showed no mercy or care. No thought was given to the small child in the room as they marched in with their weapons pointed._

 _No thought was given to little Sofia, who witnessed her mother and father thrown to the ground and handcuffed, along with her grandmother._

 _My mother, they had the nerve to handcuff my mother and throw her in the back of the police car as if she were nothing but a piece of trash._

 _Sofia had been placed into the care of the state until Rosalie was released._

 _For five hours, my niece had been with god knows who._

 _But no one escaped, even Renta was arrested and questioned._

" _Look, Cullen, we can do this the easy way or we can make this painfully hard," Sam Uley said._

 _Sam Uley, forty-eight, born on January Eighth, Nineteen-sixty-eight to Jill and Jonathan Uley in Queens, New York. Jonathan died twelve nine years ago, Jill is currently in a retirement home upstate._

 _Sam's wife, Jessica, works retail at Barney's,_ _in_ _menswear_ _as_ _polo specialist. He has two daughters, Emily and Lauren._

 _He's worked_ _in_ _major crime for the past fifteen years since his promotion._

 _I know everything about Sam Uley. I know where he lives, I know where his children go to school. I can even tell you how many teeth he has in his mouth._

 _This is the difference between us and them. We were smart and they were foolish. For a long time, a very long time, we were the untouchables of New York,_ _we were_ _the king's._

 _They got lucky with Charles Swan. None of us could have predicted his betrayal._

 _My father, he trusted very few. How he could have let himself be fooled, tricked by someone like Charles Swan, or better yet why, that is a question that only he can answer._

" _Where is she?" Uley asked again, and again, and again._

" _And who might 'she' be, detective?"_

" _Don't play dumb with me, Cullen."_

" _Detective," I said, folding my fingers together and resting them on the table, I leaned towards him. "Do you know how many women there are in New York City? Neither do I," I said, leaning back in my seat._

" _Here," he yelled, opening up the manila folder in front of him and pushed it toward_ _s_ _me._

 _I played along. I picked up the folder and looked at the girl's picture._

 _She didn't have anything special about her, although she did have a sort of natural beauty about her. She certainly didn't appear to be someone flirtatious or provocative, but then again this was only an image. I hadn't bothered to get a proper look at her this morning, when she had been curled up on that filthy mattress in Anthony's basement._

" _I've never seen this person in my life, detective," I said, and surprisingly, it was not a complete lie._

" _Is that so." Uley's eyes narrowed. He came around the table and stood behind my back. He picked up the girls photo and shoved it in my face. "This is Isabella Swan, eighteen year old Isabella Swan. That name ring any bells to you, Cullen?"_

" _Nope."_

" _This is the state's district attorney's daughter, the same DA that only twenty-four hours ago had your father locked up. Is any of_ _this_ _clicking into place for you, Cullen, or are we really going to have to do this the hard way?"_

" _What exactly are you accusing me of, detective?" I asked. I knew they had no evidence to directly connect any of us with this girl's disappearance, not even Jasper and Marcus who had done the dirty work. They had nothing. They were basing all_ _of_ _this on pure instinct and assumptions, they had no real evidence, nothing to go on. Swan had to have had a hand in the arrest warrants, but I wonder what judge approved them?_

" _Charles Swan helped take your father down. Now, Cullen, I know you're a smart boy, much smarter than your brother," he said. Pulling out his chair opposite me and purposely scraping it against the floor. "There is no way_ _that_ _this is a coincidence Cullen. Let's cut the bullshit, where's the girl?"_

" _I don't know_ _anything_ _about any girl," I said._

" _Look, Edward, if you cooperate with us, we can cut you a deal. Tell us where the girl is and we can work something out." Sam tried the nice guy_ _approach_ _now. It was funny how these idiots worked, thinking if they played nice I'd play nice too. Their routine is predictable,_ _there was_ _nothing to take me by surprise and Sam believes I'm telling the truth. He's just pulling at string now, trying to see if maybe by an ounce of hope he might be wrong._

" _I told you, detective, I don't know anything about any girl, much less Charles Swan's girl."_

 _Sam sighed, he was defeated and he knew it. The thing is, Charles Swan helped put a lot of notorious people away, criminals, rapist_ _s_ _, drug lords. Charles had a long enemy list and the chances were, that all of them wanted a little revenge. As long as Sam kept on that trail, they would stay off our backs._

" _Am I free to go, Detective, or should we discuss the weather?"_

" _Get the fuck out of my sight, Cullen," Sam spat._

 _I pushed the chair back, making the metal scrape against the floor with a piercing sound. Sam cracked his neck and snatched the folder roughly off of the desk, tucking it under_ _neath_ _his arm._

" _I'll see you around, Detective," I said, exiting the room._

" _Oh my goodness, you're finally out," my mother said, wrapping her arms around my neck. I held her back and kissed the top of her head. A commotion behind us had us all standing to attention._

 _Charles Swan, he looked horrible. Disheveled hair, dark bags under his eyes, and it looked like he hadn't bothered to change out of his sleep_ _ing_ _clothes._

" _I know it was you," he yelled at my brother. "I know it was you, Anthony. Give me back my daughter," he yelled._

" _You're a fucking lunatic," Anthony said. He was enjoying this too much, he was enjoying Charles's distressed state._

 _Charles was like a madman possessed. It was taking three detectives to hold him back from attacking Anthony._

" _Oh the poor man," my mother said. How she could feel sympathy for the vile betrayer even in his current state, I don't know. Because of him, she had been arrested. Because of him, she had been interrogated for hours. Because of him, her granddaughter had witnessed_ _terrible_ _events and yet she felt remorseful for him._

" _Give me back my baby," Charles cried. He gave up and fell to his knees. With his fists balled up on the ground, Charles fell to his knees in front of my brother. "Give me back my baby," he whispered._


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85._

 _WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers._

 _This chapter contains graphic violence and may offend some people. Please do not read if this offends you._

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN**_

 _Poor little Sofia hadn't left Rosalie or Emmett's side since they had returned, and who could blame the poor kid._

 _She was five, she was far too young to understand what had happened. She was too young to know of the world she had been born into, yet she had been traumatized by it at such a tender age._

" _Are you gonna give me a hug? You gonna give mommy a break?" I said, holding my arms opened to little Sofia._

 _She shook her head, burying herself deeper into Rosalie's side._

" _How about me?" Renta asked, but Sofia still refused. "Come on, dolcezza, I have the cake that you like with the candy in the middle."_

 _Sofia peeked her head out from under Rosalie's arm, sucking on her little lip. She was debating with herself_ _on whether_ _a slice of her favorite cake was worth leaving her mother's side._

" _Go with Renta, Sofia, and bring daddy back a big slice of cake too," Emmett said._

" _Okay," Sofia said, giving in. "But you can only have a little piece, you get fat daddy."_

 _Sofia finally left Rosalie and Emmett's side, but not before running back to kiss both_ _of them_ _on the cheek._

" _And you have to watch Tangled with me tonight daddy or no cake," she said, shaking her little finger in his face._

" _Okay," Emmett said, with a_ _salute_ _._

" _No, you have to promise."_

" _Alright, I promise, cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," Emmett said._

" _Much better, daddy."_

 _Renta gathered Sofia up into her arms and took her out of the room, closing the door behind her, my mother followed after and locked it securely._

" _One of you two better tell me what the fuck is going on," Rosalie snapped, glaring between Anthony and I._

" _Your guess is as good as ours, sister," Anthony said._

" _Come on Anthony, don't play us for idiots. What did you do with her?" Emmett asked._

 _After the arrests and raid, Anthony and I had the home searched for bugs. Jacob found eighteen listening devices and three cameras, one of which was in this very room. We were safe to talk now, everything had been disposed_ _of_ _and removed._

 _The kick to our rear was_ _that_ _, throughout our life, our father, no matter_ _what,_ _had always kept the filthy creatures away from our home. There had never been a raid in his home, not even for his arrest. But now, for some little girl they invaded our only space, our only escape, the one place that was free and not tainted and they traumatized a child in the process._

" _One of you start talking," our mother said._

" _There is nothing to talk about, mother. They made a mistake," my brother shrugged, pouring himself a glass of liquor._

" _Mistake?" Our mother yelled. "Mistake, Anthony? They defiled my home. They traumatized my grandchild." Mom continued to yell, her face becoming flushed._

" _Mom, calm down please," Rosalie said, in a weak attempt to console our mother, she wrapped her arms around her._

" _All this yelling and stress is not good for your health."_

" _Stop it, Rosalie. Are you in on this too? Did you agree to take that poor girl as well?" Our mother continued to yell, pushing Rosalie away. She stood in the middle of the room, turning around slowly, staring at the four of us in disbelief._

" _You are blowing this way out of proportion, mother. Charles Swan has made a lot of enemies in his line of work, ourselves included, and given our very recent history, they would assume us at fault first," I said._

 _My mother had a strong arm, she slapped the taste right out of my mouth._

" _Don't you dare lie to my face, Edward."_

" _Mother, stop this," Rosalie said, stepping in front of her._

" _You. I expected more from you than this," mom said, pointing her finger in Rosalie's face._

" _I have not done anything," Rosalie defended herself._

" _Mrs. Cullen, none of us had anything to do with that girl's disappearance," Emmett said. "Charles has made a very large enemy list, he has helped put away some powerful people. The chances are someone else wants revenge, the timing is just unfortunate."_

 _My brother-in-law was always the level headed one, he was always the one to see reason and the one to calm a room down if need be._

 _He and my sister had an arranged marriage. It was more the merger my father wanted out of the deal. Combining the families gave us the advantage over our enemies._

 _Emmett was a big surprise though. He was on our side and always eager to help whichever way he could. He left his honeymoon in order to help us take down a rival. He proved himself a useful little thing, and he made my sister happy, that earned him extra points from Anthony and I._

" _I know my son's Emmett, better than anyone. They are every bit like their father, although I don't think even Carlisle would stoop as low as they have."_

" _I'm hurt mother," Anthony said. My twin had a talent for manipulating our mother. He was very good at guilting her to see his side. "You think so little of me, of us," he sighed, waving his hand between himself and me._

" _Nobody wants revenge on Charles more than me, and I am not ashamed to admit that. But my business is with Charles and not his daughter. I have no use for an insignificant child, mother. when I get my hands on Charles Swan, he will pay dearly for his sins._

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _A sit down, defined as a meeting of members at the top administration, usually designed to settle disputes within the family or between families. Well, that's a formal definition. Right now, I would love formalities, right now, I would kill for formalities, literally._

 _It's not an uncommon sight in today's world to witness grown men act like fools. It is however, uncommon to see grown men acting like fools within this family given the positions that they hold._

 _I sat back in my father's chair, rubbing my temples, attempting to soothe my headache._

" _Will you all shut the fuck up," Anthony said, throwing his glass against the wall._

" _Anthony, come on," Emmett said, putting his hand on Anthony's back attempting to calm him down._

" _I will agree with you, the situation is not ideal, however we must make do," I said._

" _Make do, with a temporary Don, that is your solution, Edward?" Aro, my father's consigliere and lawyer said._

" _My father's incarceration is only temporary, Aro."_

" _Temporary? He will receive twenty years as a minimum, Edward," Aro laughed._

" _Yes, Aro, temporary," I said, grinding my teeth together._

" _And how exactly will it be temporary?"_

" _That is none of your concern," Emmett said._

" _The hell it isn't. I am his lawyer and I have a right to know what you three are playing at," Aro demanded, slamming both fists on the table._

" _Maybe if you had done the job right the first time, we would not have to play at anything," Anthony said, as he blew out a puff of smoke from his cigar around us. He leaned back in his seat and propped his feet up on the table, crossing them at the ankles._

" _I think you need to know your place, Aro. Bad things happen to those who don't fall in line," my brother warned._

" _We will be the laughing stock. They will attack us. They will see this as the perfect opportunity to destroy your family, Edward," Aro stressed. "You cannot label yourself a temporary Don."_

 _Part of me did not want this task. I did not want this position, the responsibility, not now at least and not like this._

 _Calling myself a temporary Don is not ideal, but it gave us time to plan our next move._

 _Rosalie believed she could build a strong case, she believed the majority of the evidence collected against my father had been illegally obtained, and should have never been allowed for use in court. The problem Rosalie would have was proving this, Aro had a hold of all the court documents and when my sister had contacted him about obtaining a copy, he flat out refused her._

" _Besides, Edward, you are not even married. Emmett would be better suited for the temporary position, as you put it, or your family could step aside all together," Aro said._

 _Anthony removed his feet from the table, and rested his cigar against the ashtray._

 _Standing up, he circled the table once until he stopped behind Aro, resting his hands on his shoulders._

 _I leaned back in my seat and let my brother take over the show. Emmett, beside me leaned in on his elbows. Emmett enjoyed a good show just as much as he enjoyed creating one._

 _Now my brother, he had an intimidating presence. He was usually a wild one, but when he became like this, when he became calm, the outcome never ended well for his victim, it was simply unfortunate that Aro hadn't known his limitations._

 _"Funny you should say that, Aro. Do you mind telling me what other family you have in mind?" Anthony asked._

 _"Anthony, you know that's not what I meant. You and Edward are my godson's. I love you like my own children. I am only looking at this as if I were an outsider," Aro said, attempting to stand up but my brother held him down firmly._

 _"Oh godfather," Anthony sighed. "You of all people should know that we are not that gullible. Who did you think could take my brother's place? Hmm...your son maybe?"_

 _"Anthony, you know that's not what I meant. Edward, you know me," Aro said, pleading with me. I shrugged none too impressed._

 _Aro's son, well, he wasn't the sharpest tool or the brightest bulb, in fact, it was a miracle he hadn't gotten himself killed yet._

 _He is a soldier, a simple soldier nothing more, nothing less and he will never become anything other than that._

 _But I know what Aro's hopes are. A glorious story for his family. His son's rise to the top, his rise to power. What a success that would be, what a story to tell if he overtook us._

 _Anthony and I, we have had this_ _suspicion_ _for awhile. Aro was loyal, yes, loyal to our father. But Anthony and me, he always thought_ _of_ _us_ _as_ _an inconvenience, even though he treated us as anything but._

 _You see, Rosalie and his son were the same age and at one point, before Emmett came into the picture, Aro assumed my father would arrange for my sister and his son to marry._

 _When things didn't work out that way, Aro hid his displeasure well, but not too well._

 _Right now, I cannot help but wonder if Aro helped put my father away so he could climb the ladder._

 _"That's the thing, godfather," Anthony said. "We do know you, we know every little single thing about you."_

 _"Anthony," I called out, getting his attention I gestured with my hand for him to speed things along. My brother is the sort of individual that loves to drag his victim's pain out, and that was also one of the reasons I was somewhat worried about the girl in his captivity._

 _"Oh, Aro, we are wasting the Don's precious time," Anthony said dramatically._

 _Anthony roughly lifted Aro out of his seat and pushed him over the table. With his gun cocked into place, he put the barrel behind Aro's left knee cap. With the silencer on, all that was heard of the shot was a small puff of air, but Aro's scream of pain pierced through my eardrums._

 _"Next time your mind wanders, godfather, think of the name that crippled you," Anthony said, as he looked up at me. "Too much?" He asked with a shrug._

 _"I was expecting both knees," I said, standing up leaning over the table to see Aro crying in pain on the floor._

 _Anthony kicked him over onto his stomach and fired the shot into his right knee._

 _"Better, brother?"_

 _"Much," I said. "Now, let that be a lesson. Business is to continue as usual, and if anyone else has an issue with the way things are handled from now on, take a look at your future," I said looking down at Aro's bloodied legs._

 _No one spoke, they nodded, they agreed, they kissed my hand._

 _Fear, it was key. To control men, people like these, to make them loyal, and keep that loyalty, they not only needed to trust you but they needed to fear you._

 _At a time like this my family needed to be strong, we needed to show our own and show others, outsiders, that we are strong and as united as ever._

 _"Where are you going?" I asked my brother as he wiped the blood from his shoes and put his coat on._

 _"I'm going to pay my little lamb a visit." He grinned._


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN**_

 _I had sat on_ _the_ _filthy mattress, staring pointlessly at the steps and the door._

 _I had been so close to freedom, so close to escaping this hell, and yet_ _freedom had been_ _so far away._

 _Since the police_ _had been_ _here looking, Anthony hasn't been back, and for that I was thankful, but I couldn't help wonder where he was?_

 _Had he been arrested? Had something happened to him? And if it had, then what would happen to me?_

 _James wouldn't answer any of my questions, every time he would repeat the same thing, I can't and it's not your concern._

 _How the hell was this not my concern? This was my life Anthony was playing with._

 _I wanted to know why I was here, I had a right to know that much at least._

" _Are_ _you_ _gonna refuse food now? He won't like that," James said._

 _James surprised me with his kindness, although it was very welcome, in a situation like this it made me uneasy because his kindness didn't make sense and at times made feel as if I was treading on pins and needles around him._

 _What if this was all_ _a_ _plan to set me up? Although I had no idea what I could be set up for._

" _I'm not hungry," I said, continuing to stare ahead._

" _You need to eat, Isabella, please." He came and sat down beside me. Picking up the now cold burger, he held it up to my face._

" _I said, I'm not hungry."_

" _I'm trying to help you here," he said._

" _How the hell are you helping me," I said raising my voice._

" _Anthony is coming tonight." The mention of his name made a chill run up my spine and my whole body shivered._

" _And…" I tried to sound as if I wasn't intimidated by Anthony, that the mention of his name didn't cause me actual fear, but my voice shook and my eyes widened in a panic._

" _Look," James said, putting the burger back down. "If you do as he says, he won't hurt you. He's not usually violent with women, but he does have a short fuse."_

" _Why am I here, James?" I tried my luck again, and I would continue to try until someone gave me some sort of answers._

" _Don't_ _do_ _this Q and A again. You know I can't tell you anything." He sighed._

" _Then why didn't you let the police find me?" I said, standing up abruptly, it made my head spin and caused me to stumble, but I caught myself._

" _Isabella." He jumped up after me, trying to catch me, but I moved out of his reach._

" _Why didn't you hide and let them find me? Why didn't you let them take me away from here?" I yelled. I hadn't wanted to cry, but I couldn't stop myself._

" _Because little lamb, he is smarter than that and he knows better than to cross me," Anthony said._

 _With each step he took down the stairs, I took two back. But it was a pointless task, I had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, and James became a different person in Anthony's presence, not bad, but not good either._

 _James turned a blind eye towards Anthony's actions, in_ _fact_ _James turned a blind eye towards me. He refused to look at me in Anthony's presence._

" _Oh come on little lamb, don't be like that." Anthony pouted, as he held his arms out wide. "Come here and give me a hug," he said._

 _What? A hug? Was he serious? But I wasn't stupid, I knew he was luring me into a trap. James said, if I did as Anthony said, he wouldn't hurt me, somehow I doubted that very much._

" _Isabella, if I have to come to you, I'm not going to be so nice," he warned, yet his face still held that hint of playfulness. He was in a happy mood and I didn't want to ruin that, I didn't want to make him angry, but most of all, I didn't want him to hurt me._

 _Reluctantly and with shaky feet, I slowly walked over to where Anthony stood with his arms still opened wide._

 _I came into his reach, but he made no play to touch me._

 _It became dead quiet in this room, as if both men were holding their breaths. I hated that, I hated the silence._

 _I stood in front of Anthony impossibly close, almost chest to chest, but he remained as still as a statue, only his eyes followed my every move._

 _It was with a heavy heart that I submitted and put my arms around his middle._

 _He wrapped his arms around me. He ran his fingers through my hair and gently pushed my head against his chest. This was unusual, it was foreign to me._

 _Anthony held onto me, his hold was never tight, yet it was firm. His fingers_ _ran through my hair and_ _moved over the spot where my head had made contact with the concrete wall. My heart was pounding so fast_ _that_ _he had to feel it hammering against my chest._

 _I was nervous, on the edge, I kept waiting for it to happen but it never did. His hold never became too tight and his fingers in my hair, the way he moved them around, were making me dizzy._

 _I was like a statue in his arms. I was afraid to move, afraid to breathe. I didn't want to do something, make the wrong move or the wrong sound and set him off._

 _I don't know how long we stood there in the uncomfortable embrace. It wasn't until someone standing behind Anthony cleared their throat, that Anthony released his hold on me and turned to the person behind him._

 _I took that as my opportunity to step away from Anthony, but he sensed my movement and I wasn't quick enough. He grabbed my wrist roughly, his fingers painfully digging into my skin._

 _I tried to pull away, but it was energy wasted as he pulled me in front of him and twisted my arm behind my back in an awkward position, causing a jolt of pain to shoot from my shoulder all the way through to my fingernails. If he or I made one wrong move now, he would snap my arm._

" _Having fun, brother?" The man asked._

 _I chanced a glance at the man now standing at the bottom of the stairs. A small gasp escaped me when I came face to face with Anthony's exact double, although his hair was a little shorter and his face was clean shaven, whereas Anthony had the slight hint of stubble on his jaw._

" _I am. Care to join me?" Anthony said._

" _You have to get her out of here," his twin said._

" _Why?"_

" _You know why. It's not safe to keep her here anymore, Anthony."_

 _Anthony didn't seem to care for his brother's words, in fact, he ignored him altogether. "What do you think we should do with her, Edward?" He asked._

" _First, relocate her, and you can think what you are going to do with her later."_

" _You're no fun anymore, brother. It's been awhile since we have shared. I miss that." At Anthony's words, my body stiffened. Share? My mind ran away with me, all sorts of scenarios flashed before my eyes, none of which favored me._

 _I fought against Anthony's tight grip, ignoring the shooting pain in my arm. The door was open, deep down I knew any attempt to escape would be pointless, but I had to try somehow._

 _Anthony's hold on my arm became too unbearable, he had my arm in such a position that as soon as I stepped forward I felt the snap, my wrist became loose and numb.._

 _Anthony let go of me. I was lightheaded and wobbled around and with my hand now cradled against my chest I would be unable to brace my fall. But I never made contact with the floor. A pair of arms caught me before I had the chance._

" _You okay?" He asked, his eyes roaming over me. I nodded, unable to speak. "Let me see," he said, trying to pry my fingers from my broken wrist._

" _Please," I begged, with tears in my eyes, I couldn't take anymore pain._

" _I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Let me see if it's broken so I know if I_ _need to_ _get you a doctor or not," he spoke softly._

 _A doctor? Someone other than them, someone from the outside, someone who could help me._

 _I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded._

 _He gently took hold of my wrist, holding it carefully in his hand, his fingers brushing over my numb skin._

" _Can you feel that?" He asked._

" _No."_

" _It looks broken," Edward said, looking up at his brother with what I can only describe as a disapproving glare. "Let's get you out of here, and we'll get this fixed," he smiled down at me. He helped me stand up. He gently rested my arm against my chest and then took of_ _f_ _his coat and put it over my shoulders. It was a welcomed sensation, the warmth, it was something I haven't felt in a while._

 _Edward gestured with his hand for James to come to him._

" _Take her out the back, Jasper is waiting there. We'll be up soon," Edward ordered._

 _Hope hit me. I was going out, out of this room, and out back into the real world. Maybe escape wouldn't be impossible after all. New York was full of people, no matter which corner you turned. If I could make it out onto the streets, if I could scream, run, how far would they go to restrain me? Would they chase after me in a crowd at the risk of exposing themselves? I really doubted that._

 _But that's the funny thing about hope, it goes just as quickly as it comes._

 _James pulled out a gun from behind his back. He flicked the safety of_ _f_ _and loaded a bullet into the chamber. He put the cold metal_ _of_ _the barrel of the gun against the back of my neck._

" _If you try anything funny, he will kill you," Edward said, as his fingers brushed over my cheeks and wiped away my tears. "Keep your head down and don't make a sound, do you understand me," he warned. I nodded. "Good girl."_

 _I had been right about James, he was nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing. He wouldn't hesitate to kill me, he wouldn't even blink an eye._

 _I kept my head down the entire time. We went down a long hallway and up a set of stairs, at the top was a heavy looking door._

 _James knocked twice. As soon as the door opened, he pushed me through. From here the sound of heavy bass music could be heard, which made me believe we were under a club._

 _James walked me down another dimly lit hallway until we stopped in front of another door. He leaned over me_ _to_ _open it, pushing the barrel of the gun harder against my neck._

 _As he pushed the door open, we were assaulted by the cold air and rain. It was dark outside now. I don't know how long I've been kept down there, it's hard to keep track of the time when you don't know when the day starts and the night ends._

" _Get in the car," James ordered. Someone in front opened the door to the black SUV. James lowered the gun from my neck, but he didn't put it away, he kept it out as warning to me._

 _I took my chance then and looked at the man that had opened the car door._

 _It was him, the same man that had been in my room that night, the same man that had followed me around, the same man that took me._

 _I opened my mouth, but the blonde haired man put his finger against his lips silently telling me to keep my mouth shut._

" _Get in the fucking car, you're soaking wet," Anthony said from behind._

 _James stepped away and Anthony took his place. "Get in already or I will push you in and then we'll fuck that little hand of yours up more."_

 _I climbed into the car as best I could without using my hands for support. Edward was already in the car and Anthony climbed in after me. James and the blonde man were in front._

 _The car drove out slowly from the dark alleyway and into the busy New York_ _City_ _streets._

 _Edward put his hand on my right thigh and Anthony on my left. While Edward's hand was gentle, Anthony squeezed hard making me whimper in pain, but my pain didn't seem to bother the brothers._

 _I was trapped in a car with two evil brothers, for_ _only_ _God knows what reason._

 _I chose to look straight ahead and out the front window at the passing lights and people on the streets._

 _It was a bad mistake. I should have kept my eyes on Edward, maybe if I had, I could have seen the needle in his hand. I felt the prick on the side of my neck before the darkness took over._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN**_

 _The estate,_ _which was_ _upstate, had been in my family for many decades now. My great-grandfather had built it in Nineteen-twenty-four. The beauty of the estate_ _was that_ _it was designed with both privacy and security in mind. Five acres_ _of land was_ _surrounded by an electrically charged fence. The fence itself was connected_ _to_ _both the main power board and a separate generator. As a precaution, if the power_ _was_ _to_ _ever_ _go out, the generator_ _automatically start and_ _could run for approximately sixteen hours with_ _out_ _needing to be refueled. This would be a good place to keep the girl, it was well out of the city and there would be no chance of anyone seeing her here._

 _I didn't feel right sedating her, but it was a task that needed to be done. We could not risk her seeing or knowing where she would be going. When the drug took_ _hold_ _of her, she fell limp against the seat._

 _Anthony repositioned her so her head was resting on his lap._

 _My brother had a sick sense of revenge. I personally would not have taken Charles's daughter, not in the manner in which Anthony had anyway._

 _Charles needed to pay, but this poor girl...It was too late to change anything now, she was in our possession, and letting her go was simply not an option. But then again, what the hell was Anthony planning on doing with her?_

 _I watched her sleeping form resting on Anthony's lap. I watched the rise and fall of her back. I watched as Anthony continued to run his fingers through her light brown hair._

 _She was an attractive girl, but she was just that, a girl._

" _What exactly are you planning on doing with her?" I asked._

" _I can't really do anything with her now can I. She's damaged goods, and her face is all over the media," Anthony said._

 _Yes, the media_ _, the NYPD, the FBI, and the list kept going._ _It was never ending when it came to this girl, another reason why she needed to be kept out of the city._

" _Charles will do whatever he can to make sure her face stays in the public eye, you know that, Anthony."_

" _So we fucking kill her, dump her body on Swan's doorstep. Or I don't know, we have plenty of places to hide her underground. Someone like her, she could bring in a lot of money."_

 _Our family, we had our hands in all sorts of dealings, some that even those in our life find questionable. My father, yes, he was involved in trafficking and his business didn't stop in New York, he branched out on an international scale._

 _It would not be my first choice for getting rid of the girl, but it was an option, something to consider._

 _After a nearly two and a half hour drive, the car came to a stop in front of the estate._

 _I climbed out of the car first. Anthony helped get the girl out._

 _I carried her up the stairs and took her into my old bedroom. Anthony pulled back the covers and I gently laid her down. My brother grabbed a pillow and put it by her side, resting her injured hand on it._

" _You don't look regretful," I said, in fact, my brother looked proud of the damage he had done to the girl._

" _She is Swan's daughter. She has the blood of a traitor in her. She deserves far worse, and she will receive worse than this, brother, regardless if you join in on the fun or not," my brother said, as he ran the back of his fingers along the girl's face. "I'm going to have Jasper pick up the doctor."_

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _Dr. Capr_ _e_ _si, was an old man in his early seventies. My father never had much patience with the man. If he weren't from my mother's side of the family, and if it weren't for her insistence, Capresi would have been gone a long time ago._

" _Oh my," he gasped. "That's...That's the missing girl."_

" _Shut the fuck up. You're not here to talk. You can do your job in silence," Anthony said._

" _My apologies, Mr. Cullen."_

 _The doctor didn't have much of a choice but to use a makeshift splint that he propped her wrist on and bandaged up. I guess it will have to do. We don't have any of the equipment necessary to make her a proper cast or splint, we couldn't very well walk her into a clinic or an ER._

" _That's the best I can do. I manipulated the bone into the right position, but without an x-ray I can't know for sure if it is correct," Capresi said, rubbing his hand over his forehead._

" _If it does not heal correctly, the bone will need to be rebroken and set into place again."_

" _I'm sure she'll heal just fine. Thank you for answering our call doctor, especially at this late hour," I said._

 _On the bed, Isabella stirred. She moaned softly and shifted her body. Her eyes fluttered open gently before they went wild, almost popping out of her head._

 _Anthony, myself, and the doctor eyed her with caution. She lifted her body up trying to move further away from us, but without realizing what she was doing, she put her body weight on her injured hand._

" _Don't do that, Isabella," Dr. Capresi said._

" _You know my name," Isabella said._

" _Sweetheart, I think the whole city knows your name." He smiled. Isabella looked up at him with pleading eyes. Capresi was a God fearing man. He had no problem pulling bullets out or stitching up mafiosos, but Capresi knew that this girl was an innocent party and the pity was written all over his face._

" _How did this happen, your wrist I mean?" He asked her._

" _Time for the doc to leave," my brother said, clapping his hands._

" _Yes...of course," the doc stuttered. "But, please, if there is anything she needs I am only a phone call away."_

 _Anthony looked at me, and I looked at him, it was a silent agreement, an understanding. Damn it, it was too cold outside to dig a grave, but the doc really had it coming._

 _I sat beside Isabella on the bed, but she scooted away from me as best she could._

" _How are you feeling?" I asked. She said nothing. "Are you hungry?" Still she said nothing. "I expect you to answer me, Isabella. Shall we try this again?"_

 _She stared back at me with confused eyes, her brow knitted together._

" _Why do you care?" She asked, her voice so quiet it was barely audible. But she did have a point, in a way. Why did I care? She was my brother's problem and as long as he kept her hidden away and out of sight, why did I care about her well being?_

" _That doesn't answer my question," I said._

" _I'm fine," she mumbled and lied to me._

" _Where are we?" She asked, looking around at her surroundings._

" _Somewhere," I said._

 _She sighed. She looked down at her wrapped up wrist and started chewing on the inside of her cheek. Her eyes became red and watery, but she_ _was doing_ _her best to keep herself in check._

 _I cocked my head to the left. It was light outside now, although the sun was covered by clouds and the rain hadn't stopped._

 _The two lamps on the bedside provided a warm glow that reflected off of her face. I could see her properly now, up close, I could see the fading bruising around her head. She looked so lost, so tiny, and so fragile._

 _I felt bad for the girl, but the way things_ _w_ _ere,_ _were just the way things were._

 _I hadn't agreed with Anthony_ _at_ _the beginning. Taking Charles's daughter, it was a risky move at a time when we didn't_ _need_ _any more attention._

 _But hearing of Charles's current state, I had to hand it to my brother, he did good, Charles was a mess._

 _From my sources, he had moved into his office, he had started opening up old case files, looking for a link, or anything, anyone that might lead him to the person that took his daughter._

 _Philip Dwyer, a connection of mine in the FBI, has informed me that the NYPD have no direct evidence to connect any of us_ _to_ _he girl's disappearance, even though Charles insisted it is all Anthony's doing. Sam Uley is focusing the case elsewhere and Charles doesn't agree with that. He has asked the FBI for help, but they are on the same page as the NYPD._

" _I need to use the bathroom," Isabella said._

 _I nodded, helping her off of the bed. I was surprised she let me, although I think she was too scared to refuse my help._

" _Umm...Can you…" She trailed off as she stood in front of the toilet shifting from foot to foot._

" _No, I can't," I said. There wasn't a chance she would be left alone here, not that she would get far if she tried to escape, but I wasn't in the mood to chase after her._

" _Please," she begged. She looked mortified._

" _Isabella, I'm not leaving this room. You either pee with me here or you can hop from foot to foot, I don't care," I said._

 _She moved around the bathroom, turning the sink on before she went about her business. She flushed the toilet. I stood with my back to her not wanting her to feel any more uncomfortable than she must already feel, but I could hear her struggling to put her pants back on._

 _Fuck it, I thought and before I could stop myself, I helped her pull her pants up._

" _Thank you," she mumbled, her face was_ _beet_ _red, she looked as if she had just finished running a marathon. I thought it was attractive, a woman who could still blush, that was something I hadn't seen in a very long time. The color suited her, red suited her, it complimented her skin, it made her stand out._

" _Let's get something to eat," I said._

" _I'm not hungry," she said, although her stomach didn't seem to agree with her, if the noises it was making was anything to go by._

" _Humor me," I challenged._

 _I called James and told him to run into town and bring us all back something to eat. I spoke in Italian, not wanting Isabella to understand what I was saying. I also asked James about the doc, he said Jasper and Anthony were taking care of it as we_ _spoke_ _._

" _You'r_ _e_ _Italian," Isabella said._

" _I suppose I am. But that's none of your business now is it," I said._

 _She hesitated, for a long moment it looked as if she was having a debate with herself. She sighed, her good hand wrinkling the sheets through her fingers and sighed again._

" _Whatever you want to ask, do it already," I said._

 _She swallowed nervously. She looked up at me, directly in the eyes, she didn't blink._

" _Why am_ _I_ _here?" She asked._

 _I found it an odd question. Hadn't Anthony told her? Was she not aware of her father's job? Or had she just never made the connection? Did she not recognize us? Did she not watch the news or read a paper?_

" _Mouthy little thing isn't she," my brother said. Whatever he and Jasper had done to the doctor, it looked as if they had a little more fun than they should have. His white shirt was splattered with blood and he hadn't bothered to wash his hands._

" _What do you say brother, maybe we can put that mouth of hers to better use?" He smirked._

 _The poor little thing, she looked like a deer caught in_ _the_ _headlight_ _s_ _. I don't know what frightened her more, Anthony's proposition or his bloodied hands and clothes?_

 _Anthony set his eyes on her. He began unbuttoning his shirt as he stalked towards the bed where Isabella was seated on. She didn't move, she didn't even blink. She stared back at my brother, breathing deeply as if she were about to have a panic attack. Anthony crawled on the bed and_ _moved_ _up her body until he straddled her lap. I watched with my arms folded across my chest, as my brother proceeded to scare her._

" _You've never been with a man, have you, little lamb?" He asked_ _,_ _trailing kisses down the side of her face. "Good, you're all mine," Anthony whispered._

" _Anthony," I called out, deciding I should put the poor girl out of her misery._

" _Edward wants to have fun to_ _o_ _," he winked. "Come join us, brother."_

" _Go and clean yourself up," I said._

" _You're no fun,"_ _he_ _said, pouting at Isabella._

" _And when you are finished. I've booked you in to see dad, he requested you."_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN**_

 _For weeks I had been left alone in this room._ _They locked me in here, and deadbolted the doors and windows in the bedroom and_ _bathroom._ _James didn't stay with me_ _any_ _longer than was necessary. He would only make sure I ate and then he would leave, locking me in this room and leaving me all alone._

 _There was nothing in here, nothing to do, no TV, not even a book or a magazine. I didn't know what was worse, being left alone_ _, or_ _being left alone and having too much time to think?_

 _I sat by the window looking out. It was light outside,_ _which meant it was daytime_ _, although I had no idea what day or even what month it was. There was ice on the branches of the trees and ice on the ground. It looked ridiculously cold, and I would give anything right now to be able to go outside or even open a window and have that cold air hit my face._

 _It's amazing the things we take for granted. I was never a fan of the winter months, but right now I would give anything to be able to feel it._

 _I thought of my mom and dad. I didn't want to focus on the negative, I didn't want to focus on the pain they must be in, especially mom._

 _Mom was such a sensitive person, she always took things to heart, she always cried for others._

 _What must they be going through?_

 _I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall. I let the tears_ _fall, it was effortless now because the only thing I could do here was cry, weep for everything and everyone that has been taken away from me._

 _My parents._

 _My family, friends._

 _My life, my dancing. I had worked so hard for that scholarship and for what? What was the point now?_

 _Now, I didn't know if I would be alive tomorrow. I didn't know when Anthony, or Edward, possibly even James, would come in here and end me._

 _I heard the click of the door as someone unlocked it. I heard footsteps approach me, but I didn't look up, I didn't open my eyes._

 _He grabbed a hold of my good hand and pulled me up to my feet._

 _I opened my eyes, James wrapped his arms around me. I rested my head on his chest and held onto him as tight as I could. He held me with the same strength and let me cry into his chest. I made his shirt a wet mess, but_ _it didn't seem to bother him._ _He let me cry, he let me get it all out._

 _James didn't say a word, he didn't need to. The_ _silence_ _was more than enough for me._

 _When my tears were all dried up, when I had nothing left, I let go of him and stepped out of his arms._

" _Better?" He asked, with genuine kindness._

" _Not really," I sighed and sat back down in my spot by the window._

" _Is it cold outside?" I asked._

" _It's freezing," he said._

" _How long have I been...missing?"_

" _Seven weeks," he answered without any hesitation. Seven weeks, almost two months. I_ _had_ _missed my birthday, I_ _had_ _missed my performance. Seven weeks…._

" _Why am I still alive?" If that wasn't the million dollar question, then I don't know what was._

" _What do you mean?" James asked, sitting down opposite me on the bay window._

" _Why am I here? Yeah, I know I don't get an exact reason," I stressed. "But people who kidnap_ _other_ _people usually want something with them, they want to get back at them or hurt them, not lock them up in fancy houses and forget about them."_

 _Not that any of this was easy. Not that Anthony hadn't kept me locked up in that filthy basement and abused me. But this, right here, right now, it made no sense to me._

" _You're injured," James said. "And you're confusing me right now, sweetheart. Do you want someone to hurt you?"_

" _No,_ _God_ _no!" I almost wanted to shout. The thought of Anthony coming back here only to hurt me, made me physically sick. But the sick part in all of this, the really twisted part, I realized that Anthony seemed to enjoy my pain. Yet when he held me that one time, when he was gentle, it was like it wasn't him, as if he had another personality hidden away._

 _Hi_ _s brother tho_ _ugh, his twin, he appeared more calm, gentle. Even when Edward spoke, although he was authoritative, he was gentle._

 _Edward and Anthony looked to be identical twins, but there was one difference between them. Edward had a small mole, a birthmark on the top of his left eye, whereas Anthony didn't._

" _Remember what I told you?" James asked._

" _About?"_

" _About doing what he says. About not making him angry. If you would have listened to me, that would have never happened," he said, motioning to my bandaged wrist. It's been a few weeks since I've had the cast on. It doesn't hurt anymore, but it is uncomfortable and I couldn't wait to have it off._

" _What did you think I should have done, James?" I asked, my own anger building up._

" _Did you expect me to stand there and let him touch me in that way, willingly?"_

" _He would not have done anything to you," he defended._

" _Really? Are you sure? Because I'm not."_

" _Look, Isabella, you have to trust me on this, okay," he said._

 _James seemed like a good guy. It was clear that James didn't agree with what Anthony and his brother were doing with me, but at the same time, Jame_ _s_ _couldn't do anything about it either because he worked for Anthony, or for his brother, or both._

 _I could understand that. From the impression I got from James and Jasper, the one who took me away, they were afraid of the brothers. When Anthony or his brother walked into a room, or when James knew thet one was coming, his whole body would change, he would straighten up like a soldier waiting for his next order._

 _I figured that Anthony and his brother were something else. Something dangerous, but I still had no real clue as to who they really were._

" _Can I ask you a question, James?"_

" _Depends on what the question is," he said, trying to keep his tone light. He knew all the typical questions I would ask him, but I had given up on ever getting an answer for those._

" _Why are you here?" I asked._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _You seem like a nice person, James. How did you get involved with someone like...like him, like them?"_

 _My question must have not been what he expected, he looked a little taken back by it. He was quiet for what seemed like a very long time. It was with a deep sigh, James stood up and turned to face the window, staring aimlessly outside._

" _I'm sorry," I said. His choices were his own, and his reason for working for Anthony must be more personal than what I thought. "I didn't mean to pry."_

" _Ten years ago, my sister went missing. She was only fifteen," he said._

 _I didn't know what to say. I was afraid to speak now, I was afraid he would stop talking. James seemed to be in his own bubble, away in another place as he continued to stare out the window, I don't think I saw him blink once._

" _Our parents died when Irina was only thirteen. I was twenty at the time and I got custody of her._

 _She started acting out, rebelling, hanging around the wrong people at school. After a while, she stopped going to school altogether, I found out she was doing drugs." He sighed. His shoulders slumping, he turned back around and sat back down looking at me. He was so sad, so lost as he spoke of his sister. James was big guy, so to see him this vulnerable, I didn't know what to do, what to feel._

" _I think it was her way of dealing with the pain._

 _When she disappeared, I did all the right things. I filed a police report, I put her poster up everywhere, I even offered a reward for any information. But it was as if she had vanished off the face of the earth. The police weren't any help, I don't think they ever bothered to look for her. In their eyes, she was only another teen runaway, another addict wanting to escape her life. But I knew better. Yeah, Irina was in a bad place, she was messed up, but she would always come home every night."_

 _I sat as quiet as I could, I didn't move even though I wanted to reach out and hold him, and offer him any sort of comfort that I could._

" _I knew something was off. I knew she wasn't a runaway, but nobody would listen to me. That's when I started looking for her myself," he said._

" _Is that how you met Anthony?" I asked. As horrible as it sounds, I was happy that James was speaking to me, it made me feel as if I_ _was_ _a normal person again, instead of a prisoner._

" _It wasn't Anthony I met, it was Edward."_

" _Did Edward take your sister?" I blurted out. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know, but then again, I wasn't sure if I_ _could_ _continue not knowing._

" _No, Edward didn't take her. They are connected to a ring, though. Edward thought my sister could be in there, but he didn't make me any promises."_

" _What did Edward do?" I asked._

" _He made me_ _one of his soldiers,_ _he gave me a job in his crew. It was simple, my job was to transport the girls from one location to another or take a specific one to a buyer," he said._

 _My sharp intake of air filled the room as he spoke the words. I started putting the pieces together. I've heard stories, I've seen movies about human trafficking. It all made some sense to me now, this is why I was here, this is why Anthony took me. His words, 'she's worth a lot.' He was planning on selling me?_

 _I was aware of my body violently shaking. Even though I tried to control myself, it was near_ _ly_ _impossible. An odd feeling overtook me, I felt as if I couldn't breathe, as if I was suffocating._

" _Isabella...Isabella," I heard James's frantic voice. I was aware, I could hear him loud and clear. I felt he had a firm grip on my shoulders, but I didn't know if he was shaking me or trying to keep me still?_

" _Jasper," James yelled out, as loud as he could. "Jasper," he called out again._

" _Listen to me, Isabella," he said, holding me firmly. "Take a deep breath, come on do it with me, breath in, breath out. Look at me."_

 _I tried, I tried so desperately to follow his voice, to hold onto it and not slip away, but I couldn't. I felt myself slip away into the darkness, the madness or whatever this was that was happening to me right now._

" _Here," a new voice said._

 _I closed my eyes and felt something cold pressed against my forehead and on the nape of my neck._

" _That's it, breath in, breath out."_

" _Put your head down between your knees," Jasper said, pushing my back forward._

" _That's it," James said, as my erratic breathing slowly evened out. My body stopped shaking, but I still felt on edge._

" _Christ, you okay?" Jasper asked. I nodded, I didn't trust my voice right now._

" _Has_ _that ever happen before?" But this time he wasn't speaking to me._

" _No," James said._

 _Right now I didn't care that they were talking about me as if I weren't here. No, their voices were drowned out and a new sound filled my ears, it was a sound that neither James nor Jasper seemed to notice._

 _Footsteps echoed from down the hall, footsteps coming this way._

 _That feeling arose in me once more and my hands started to shake. I knew who it was, who was coming up here and I couldn't take it, not anymore, not after what James had told me about his sister._

" _What the hell is going on here?" His dominating voice filled the room. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand_ _up_ _._

" _She's having a panic attack," James said, and just like that I felt myself slip into the darkness. I could hear the voices around me, but I couldn't make out a single word they were saying._

 _The place I slipped into, it was cruel, my mind wouldn't allow me to hear them, but I could feel him, feel his hands on me as he pulled me up and dragged me along like a ragdoll._

 _This was it, this would be the end, he would finally do it. I just hoped that he would make it quick._

 _He pushed me out into the cold. The crisp air hit me and filled my lungs. It was a shock to my system and I snapped back to the reality around me. I started shaking, not from fear or panic, but from the cold. I didn't have any shoes or socks on, my toes froze instantly on the ice covered porch._

 _I had been wrong, it wasn't Anthony that had come, it was Edward. He stood in front of me, holding my cold face in between his warm hands._

" _Take a deep breath," he said. I followed his order, afraid not to. "Better?" He asked, with concern laced in his voice and evident in his features._

" _I'm cold," I managed to mumble out._

" _Let's get you back inside."_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **WARNING: This chapter contains mention of rape and violence.**_

 _ **ANTHONY CULLEN**_

 _My father could be an irritating bastard when he wanted to be, even locked away, he still he still found a way to piss me off._

 _As Rosalie_ _has suspected_ _, they gave our father fifteen years with parole after ten._

 _The might_ _y_ _Carlisle Cullen was to call Sing Sing_ _his_ _home for the next decade and a half, unless Rosalie could build a strong enough case to free him. Funny that Aro had a sudden change of mind and decided to help my sister anyway he could._

 _I waited for my father outside in a small courtyard located on the south side of the prison._

 _I didn't expect anything less, my father was who he was and regardless of where he was, he was still treated like a king._

 _He had his own private cell. He was sleeping on a ten thousand dollar mattress instead of cheap foam. He was eating steak and drinking Moėt. It's all about who you know, the connections you have and the information you have on people and using that information to get those people to do what you want when you want. As it just so happened, Sing Sing's director had a certain sexual preference one that my father helped him not only fulfil, but also hide from the public eye. It was the director's turn now to look after my father, after all, we wouldn't want that sort of information leaked_ _to the press._

 _"Anthony, mio figlio," my father called out._

 _I turned in his direction, this is the first time I've seen him since_ _the_ _trial._

 _He was my father, yet he wasn't._

 _I had always been accustomed to seeing him as a well kept man. He was always clean shaven, always in a suit, and his hair was never out of place. It was a shock for me to see him in such a state, with stubble on his jaw, his hair, while neatly combed it wasn't his style, and his tailored suit replaced with a cheap jumpsuit._

" _You look like shit," I said, hugging him and kissing him on both cheeks and his hand._

" _It's good to see you too, figlio," he chuckled._

" _Mom's upset with you. She threatened to go as far as to get a court order to see you," I said._

 _My father had made his intentions loud and clear, he had refused to allow my mother any sort of visitation. That didn't go down well at all with my mother, in fact, in all of my twenty-nine years, I have never seen her that angry._

 _My mother could be_ _quite the_ _scary_ _individual when things didn't go her way. My father, for my whole life, I had never known him to refuse her anything._

" _This is no place for her. She needs to stop with these childish antics," he said._

" _She's your wife, and she misses you. What harm could it possibly do if she were to visit?"_

" _Your mother is pure and I will not taint her by allowing her to step into a place like this, no matter how much it pains me."_

" _It's not fair_ _to_ _her for you to make that choice," I said. It was an easy decision for him to make while he was locked behind these gates, because he couldn't see the consequences, whereas the rest of us had to see our mother in that state._

" _Enough about your mother, Anthony. I only have thirty minutes with you," he said._

" _Why are we out here?" I asked, readjusting my scarf, it was below freezing out here, but my father appeared as if he didn't even feel the cold._

" _It is safer to talk out here, no one will be listening in," he said, pulling me by his side. With his arm around my shoulder, he leaned in close to my ear._

" _What the fuck were you thinking?" My father whispered harshly._

" _What are you talking about?" I said, playing dumb. But I knew better, that would not be something that would work on my father._

" _Don't play this game with me, figlio, io non sono stupido," he hissed in my ear._

" _What_ _is_ _your fucking problem," I said, pushing him off of me._

" _Lower your damn voice." He pulled me back by the collar of my jacket, trapping me in a vise grip. "Your brother informed me of the girl's condition and your treatment of her."_

" _Don't give me this fucking bullshit, I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done yourself," I spat. He was a fucking hypocrite. If he were in my shoes, Charles's daughter and Charles himself, well they would be dead already._

" _She's a child, Anthony."_

" _That's never stopped you before," I challenged._

" _Don't take that fucking tone with me. Because of you, your mother was arrested, your sister also. You brought them into my home. They destroyed_ _mine_ _and your mother's home, the one place that I had kept them away from," he said, wrapping his fingers around my neck._

" _I didn't do anything you, yourself would not have done. I did exactly what you taught me to do," I yelled, not giving a damn who could hear us. I got right into his face. He had no right to judge me, hell, he should be thanking me._

" _You taught us, you always fucking taught us. Never let those who betray you, never let those who have crossed you go unpunished. Find their weakness, exploit it and bring them to their knees._

 _I did this for you, for our family. Look where you are, look where you are now all because of that traitor. A king belongs_ _in_ _his castle and not in trash," I said._

 _He let go of me, pushing me back, my shoes slipped on the ice covered ground but I caught myself well. My father looked deadly, myself, my brother and sister, had never spoken out of line to him, I had never lost my temper at him before, but he deserved it, he deserved a lot more._

" _Then_ _kill her already," he said,_ _in a_ _calm, yet deadly serious_ _voice_ _. "You've had your fun, Anthony, now get rid of her."_

" _Get rid of her? Kill her?" I threw my head back laughing. "Oh, mio padre, what I have planned for her, what I have planned for Charles. Death is far too easy for the pain he has brought to our family. I am not going to kill the girl or Charles, but I will watch him kill himself."_

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _It had been several weeks now since I had been to the estate, several weeks since I hadn't seen her. Jasper and James were always with her at the estate. James gave me a daily report on her. Her wrist had healed and the cast was ready to come off. We'll see if Capresi did a good job of putting her wrist back in place or if it would need to be rebroken._

 _The twisted part of me wanted her to not have healed properly, only so I could have the satisfaction of breaking her bones, the satisfaction of hearing her scream and seeing her cry. But the sensible side of me knew that I needed her fit and not damaged. I had big plans for Isabella tonight, and I needed her in perfect condition. My plan for her, Charles should be receiving his special instructions right about now. I smiled at the thought, I wish I could be the one to see his face, to watch it fall and crumble into a million pieces, but I could be patient, I could wait_ _until_ _later._

" _What the fuck are you smiling about?" Edward asked._

" _I have a plan for the little lamb tonight." I smirked._

" _Plan?"_

 _I suppose it was time to let the brother in on the plan._

" _I'm taking Isabella tonight," I said._

" _Taking her where, Anthony?" Are you out of your mind? Do you want to risk someone seeing her?" He said, taking his eyes off of the road._

" _No one will see her, give me some credit, brother."_

" _What the hell are you up to, Anthony?" He demanded. It's frightening at times how much Edward can sound like our father. He has the same tone, the one that left no room for arguments, that tone that demanded respect, that tone that let the enemy know there would be hell to pay if respect and order were not given. But I'm his fucking brother, his blood, and his right hand._

" _I thought it would be a nice gesture if Charles were to see his daughter." I shrugged._

" _And why exactly would we do that?" He asked, his tone lighter, he liked my idea._

" _Because we can."_

 _I filled Edward in on my plan, right down to the last detail. James would be the one to do it, along with Garrett because Jasper would not have the stomach to go through with it._

 _My brother, well he wasn't exactly sold on the idea of raping the girl. But I need this to be over and done so I could finally put her to some good work._

 _The estate was quiet. I stayed outside, taking out a packet of cigarettes and lighting one up. My mother would kill me if she found out I had smoked inside the estate._

 _Edward went inside ahead of me, but just as quickly as he disappeared inside, he came back out dragging my little lamb in tow._

 _From where I stood leaning against the car, she looked as pale as the snow on the ground. Her skin had no color to it and she looked as if she were hyperventilating. Her entire body was trembling._

 _Edward had managed to somehow calm her down, although I didn't hear what he had said to her, I wasn't close enough._

 _I wondered what the hell was going on? Why hadn't Jasper called me, told me about this?_

 _I took the bags out of the trunk and followed them inside._

 _They were sitting in the hall room by the fireplace, Isabella on the sofa and Edward kneeling in front of her, James and Jasper stood in the doorway._

" _Can you please tell me what happened?" he asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. It was funny to me how she didn't flinch away from his touch, she even let him hold her hand._

" _Nothing," my little lamb mumbled._

" _That didn't look like nothing. Come on, Isabella, tell me. Did one of them do something to you? Did they touch you?" My brother asked, motioning to Jasper and James. I waited for her answer, ready to put a hole in one of them or both if they laid a hand on her._

" _No," she said._

" _Then what had you trembling like that?"_

" _It was my fault," James said._

" _What the fuck did you do to her?" I said, aiming my gun at his head._

 _I didn't look at Isabella, but I heard her loud gasp. She must have gripped my brother's hand pretty tight for him to let out a hiss of pain, but he didn't let go, he didn't pull his hand away._

" _Anthony, put the gun away," he said, calmly._

" _What did you do to her?" I ignored my brother. James was a dead man._

" _He didn't do anything," Isabella said, jumping up._

 _I stared back her dumbfounded that she had the courage to jump up and defend James._

" _He said it was his fault," I said, pressing the barrel against James skull harder._

" _He didn't. He thinks it's his fault, it's not," she said, trying to move, to come to me or to James, I don't know what was going on in her head, but Edward didn't let her go._

" _You're going to have to explain that_ _o_ _me," I said. "Or else he's as good as dead."_

" _No, please. We were talking, only talking. I asked him some questions and my mind…" she trailed off._

" _What sort of questions did you ask him?"_

" _Boss," James said._

" _I didn't fucking ask you to talk, I asked her a question, answer it little lamb."_

" _I asked him about his childhood and he asked me about mine. We talked about family and I guess, talking about mine...I haven't thought of them in a long time," she said. I was surprised by her calm, I was surprised she hadn't lost it again. I was surprised she was able to look at me and lie to my face. Talking? Talking about family doesn't cause a fucking panic attack._

" _You're lying to me, little lamb and that's a very, very big no-no." I spoke to her as if she were a child, right now though that was exactly what she was acting like, a child who thinks_ _that their_ _lie will go unnoticed._

" _I'm not," she cried. "I swear, he didn't do anything to me. We talked, all we did was talk."_

" _Has this ever happened before?" Edward asked, looking between James and Jasper._

" _No," James said._

" _Fine," I said. "We don't have time for this. Let's get that cast off." I kneeled down beside her._

" _You're going to do it?"_

" _Don't you trust me, little lamb?" I winked up at her._

 _Her face was priceless, a mixture of anger and fear danced across_ _it._ _She was afraid of me. Her eyes went wild when I flipped open the sharp knife. Her chest heaved up and down very fast, she looked as if she were about to have another one of those damn attacks._

 _Edward stood behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders, he started trailing his fingers up and down her arms._

 _I tightened my jaw, I saw red. I was insanely angry and my hand began to shake while I still held onto the knife._

 _How dare she relax into my brother's touch. How dare she lean closer to him and seek comfort. Edward was no better than me, he was every bit the monster I was, oh if only the little lamb knew._

 _I stared her directly in the eyes, she didn't look away from me, she didn't blink. Her bottom lip trembled. She tucked it in between her teeth, biting down._

 _I had no control over the groan that escaped my lips. How was it that her little and simple action affected me so?_

 _I put the knife down without giving it a second thought. I brought my hand up to her face, she flinched just like I had expected her to._

 _I ran my thumb over her lip, releasing it from it's prison. She had bitten down so hard, she_ _had_ _made herself bleed._

 _I smeared her blood over her bottom lip and licked my own._

 _My brother eyed me with curiosity, he made no move or said no words to stop me._

 _With that, I grabbed a fistful of her hair and brought my mouth to hers. Her lips were soft and her breath warm, yet she was as solid and felt as cold as stone. She made no move as I ran my tongue over her bloodied lip and licked it clean._

 _I let out a feral moan, The taste of her was like nothing I've had before. She was an experience I've never had, and I wanted more of her and I hated myself for that and it made me hate her even more that she could have this effect on me._

 _I pulled away from her and pushed her with force into the sofa as she let out a pained cry._

" _Get the fuck out of here," my brother said, angry. He couldn't be angry with me, he had no right to be. "Now," he yelled._

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _Edward had given James and Garrett strict orders,_ _to_ _make it look real without harming her. James wasn't happy about it and he had refused to have any part, at first, but persuasion can be a son of a bitch and if he and Garrett valued their lives they would do as they were told._

" _lei avrà un altro attacco di panico," my brother said, avoiding speaking in English, so our little lamb would not understand._

" _She'll be fine," I said._

" _e se lei non è?"_

" _We'll deal."_

 _Isabella was seated between my brother and_ _me_ _. Garrett and James were in the front._

 _Edward had sent Jasper to collect Charles. It would be Jasper's only job, he did not have the stomach for what was about to take place._

 _Isabella sat in the middle with her hands in her lap wringing her fingers together. With her head down, she sounded as if she_ _was_ _struggling to breath_ _e_ _._

" _Idiota," my brother said, looking at me._

 _Edward put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. "You need to calm down, fiorella. You're going to pass out again," he said._

" _Where are you taking me?" She asked._

" _Don't worry about that."_

" _Please, tell me something, anything. Why am I here?" She said, fighting against Edward's hold. I put my hand on her thigh and her whole body immediately went stiff._

" _Cazzo,_ _non toccare la sua," my brother said._

" _Fuck you," I spat._

" _Questo non è una richiesta , è un ordine del cazzo , Anthony," he said with a deadly stare._

 _A fucking order, now he was throwing out orders. I gritted my teeth together. My fingers dug into Isabella's thigh, I knew I would leave a bruise on her skin, maybe even draw blood._

" _Last war_ _n_ _ing," my brother said._

 _This was bullshit, him pulling this crap on me. A fucking Don my ass. It should be me in his position. I should be the one in charge, the Don, the one taking over for my father._

 _I removed my hand, noting the imprint my fingers had left, that was sure to bruise._

 _I watched my brother in complete astonishment as my anger grew to a new level of high. The way he comforted her. The way he stroked her back and her hair, and kissed the top of her head. But it was her reaction that made my blood boil to new temperatures._

 _How was she so accepting of him? To let herself be touched by him, innocent as the touch may be, if it were me offering it to her, she would have been a frightened mess, hell, she would have had another panic attack._

 _But I had to laugh at how stupid she really was, to lean on my brother like that, to accept his comfort. Between the two of us, Edward came off as the nice guy, but the truth was anything but. The difference between him and I, I didn't put on a mask, I didn't hide my fucked up ways. If Isabella only knew what my dear brother was about to walk her into...Well, she would not be as accepting of his comfort._

 _Edward and I had_ _ac_ _quired this old factory warehouse about eight years ago, and since then it has come in pretty handy._

 _My brother had a bit of a twisted sense of humor, turning a room into what looked like an interrogation room. He did it all including the double window, which would be perfect for tonight's event, my little lamb, she would not be able to see her father, but oh the view Charles will have._

" _No one is going to hurt you," my brother said._

" _Why am I here then? What are you going to do to me?" She asked in one breath._

" _All you have to do is go and stand in that room."_

" _Why? What's in that room?" She asked again._

 _My brother sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes._

" _You ask a lot of questions, gattina. I'm trying to be nice here. Either you get in that fucking room or I'll put you in there myself and I don't want to do that. I don't want to hurt you, gattina, but you are making it very difficult," Edward said. He opened the_ _door_ _for her, gesturing for her to step in._

 _She was fighting a losing battle and she knew it, she had no way out._

 _She stepped into the empty room, my brother_ _locked_ _the door and_ _trapped_ _her inside._

" _She's a fucking pain," I said._

" _Where's Swan?" Edward asked._

" _Jasper's bringing him in now."_

 _My brother nodded and turned his attention to James and Garrett. He drew out his gun, flicked the safety off and pointed it at one and then the other._

" _You make one fucking mistake, you hurt her physically in any way, you are both dead," he said._

" _Yes boss." They said in_ _unison_ _._

" _Oh look who we have here," I said, as Jasper appeared, dragging a blindfolded Charles along. "His clothes and everything else are back at the location," Jasper said._

 _Jasper had picked_ _Charles_ _up from Queens, he had him blindfolded and arms tied up. He drove him to a location under the bridge where he had Charles change out of his own clothes and shoes. Jasper had checked him to make sure he didn't have any devices attached to his ears, through his hair or down his pants. It wasn't the best job but it was something that needed to be done. With technology becoming more and more smaller, and with the Feds and NYPD always getting their hands on new things, we were not going to take any risks._

 _Jasper also left Charles's phone in the car under the bridge and had jammed it's GPS signal with a blocking device._

 _Jasper sat Charles down on a chair and left him. I walked up behind him and slipped his blindfold off, leaving his hands tied._

" _Where's my daughter?" Charles asked._

" _What, no hello, no nothing?" I said, feigning hurt._

" _Where is she, Anthony?" he yelled._

" _I did promise you could see her, didn't I."_

" _Anthony, let's get this over with, I've skipped dinner, I'm hungry," my brother_ _whined_ _._

" _What have you two done to my daughter?" Charles continued to yell._

" _Oh come on now Charles, we haven't done anything to her, in fact, we have been nothing but nice to her, isn't that right, brother," I said._

" _You know," Edward said, stepping in front of Charles, he grabbed his face roughly and forced him to look at my brother's face. "I should put a bullet in between your eyes. You are nothing but a traitor, scum. The dirt on the bottom of my shoe hold_ _s_ _more value than you."'_

" _Kill me, kill me Edward, please. But please let my daughter go, she's not a part of any of this," Charles begged._

" _I am not going to kill you Charles. I will not show that sort of mercy," Edward said. My brother back_ _ed_ _away from Charles and snapped his fingers at James and Garrett, who nodded and entered the adjoined room._

 _Edward flipped the switch by the double window, the little lamb came into view, scared and shaking as Garrett and James stalked towards her._

" _Oh, what do we have here," I said, smiling down at the piece of scum. "Isn't that your little girl?" I mo_ _c_ _ked._

" _What the hell are you doing to her?" He yelled._

" _Shh, watch and enjoy the show."_

 _Garrett grabbed Isabella from behind, he had one arm around her shoulder blades and the other around her waist. He leaned down and whispered in her ear low enough that the microphone in the room didn't pick up what he had told her. He walked back with her until his back hit the wall and James stood in front of my little lamb._

 _"Look Charles, look at that," I said, forcing his head in the direction of the window,_ _where_ _his daughter stood behind._

 _Garrett held her firmly while she continued to fight against his hold. James stood_ _in front of her. He_ _forcibly grabbed her leg and hiked it up around his waist. James even made a point to rip her underwear off, throwing it over his shoulder towards the window, that wasn't a part of the show._

 _The poor little lamb, she did her best to push James, to fight him, but Garrett was built like a tank. A grown man wouldn't stand a chance against him, let alone a pathetic little girl._

 _"Anthony please, please Anthony stop this," Charles cried. "Do what you want to me. Leave my baby alone, I'm begging you."_

 _"Shh, watch," I said. "Watch your precious little girl become a whore. Look at that Charles."_

 _Charles screamed his heart out, he fell out of the chair and on his knees crying like a fucking baby._

 _Edward's hands were balled into fists, he didn't take his eyes off the scene in front. One wrong move, if James or Garrett fucked this up, if they touched her, they were dead. Edward had been very clear on his orders, I didn't agree with him but even knowing the truth, I can't help but want to put an end to it and that pissed me off._

 _When James was done, he stepped back and Garrett let her go. She fell to her knees with a loud thud, crying hysterically. My brother sighed, his face a stone mask, not giving anything away._

" _Get him out of here," Edward said._

 _I grabbed a fistful of Charles's hair and forced him up against the glass._

 _"You see that Charles, you see your little girl. This is all your fault, remember that," I said. "Jasper, take this piece of crap away," I called out._

 _Jasper had to drag Charles out of the room, he was a fucking mess. I turned my attention back into the room. James stood by the door, he punched the wall a few times and stormed out of the room._

 _Edward was kneeling down beside Isabella, holding his hand out, but she refused to touch him._

 _She stood up on her shaky legs, stumbling a few times. My brother caught her, but she fought with everything in her against his hold._

 _This bothered me more than it should. I've done this shit before, hell, I've killed people, some guilty, some innocent, but I've never felt like I am now...like trash, worthless, nothing and for what? For her? For the daughter of a traitor? No, she had no right to make me feel like this, like I was the bad guy._


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **WARNING: This chapter contains mention of rape and violence.**_

 _ **CHARLES SWAN**_

 _I felt as if I was standing close to the edge of insanity. For a brief moment, I wondered if this is what those poor souls locked away in padded cells felt like._

 _It had been seven weeks, seven_ _long_ _agonizing_ _weeks since...Since she was taken._

 _Seven weeks of hell._

 _Seven weeks of only pain._

 _Renee, she handled things better than me, she coped better. She was able to talk to another person, she was able to hold a TV interview. But even as strong as Renee was, she wasn't able to keep her mind on our daughter for too long without breaking down._

 _I've lost people in my life before, my mother, my father, but the pain I felt over their loss was incomparable to this, this was a pain that words could not describe. I wanted to scream, to shout at the top of my lungs, yet I didn't want to make a sound._

 _I wanted to throw the blame at the NYPD for not doing more. I wanted to blame the FBI for being incapable of finding any sign of my ballerina, or for not being able to connect the Cullen's with her kidnap_ _ping_ _. But deep down I knew I only had myself to blame._

 _Renee, she blames me too, even though she won't admit it out loud, I can see it in her eyes._

 _Uley has been giving me the same response, every time I ask him, every time I tell him Anthony is involved, Anthony took her, I know he did. Uley always shuts me down, he says they have done everything they can, they have looked everywhere, everything that the Cullen name was attached to, homes, businesses, property, but they had found nothing, no sign of her, not even a strand of her hair. They have been watching them for the past five weeks now, Sam has kept me up to date with every detail, but the news I have received this morning was...They have officially ruled out the Cullen's involvement, no matter how much I protested, how much I insisted, Uley wouldn't hear me out._

 _In the back of my mind, there was a little voice filling me with doubt though. What if none of this was Carlisle's fault, what if my ballerina's disappearance had nothing to do with the Cullen's or their associates?_

 _Maybe Sam was right. Maybe I was looking to make something out of nothing._

 _That's why for weeks now, I have closed myself off in my office. If Cullen didn't take my Isabella, someone else did._

 _I opened all_ _of_ _my recent cases, I took out the archives_ _of_ _old cases from drug lords,_ _rapists_ _, high profile cases, people with the means to make someone disappear without a trace. The more I dug in, the deep_ _er_ _I looked, the more disappointed I became. Every time I came up empty handed, there was never a lead, never a connection._

 _I slumped my head down on my desk, hitting my head with force, but I couldn't feel any pain, I've been numb for a long time now._

 _I closed my eyes only for a moment and my mind wander_ _ed_ _off, wander_ _ed_ _off to that dangerous place, that place that held my pain, my heartache._

" _ **Daddy," she laughed. "You look silly."**_

 _ **My little girl, only five years old and like every child**_

 _ **she was not friends with vegetables.**_

 _ **Renee and I had tried a hundred**_ _ **different**_ _ **way**_ _ **s**_ _**to disguise them**_

 _ **in her food, but sometimes, Isabella was too smart for her own good.**_

 _ **Her mother and I couldn't get away with anything.**_

" _ **Try it. I bet you'll love it, sweetheart," I said.**_

 _ **I picked up two pieces of broccoli and put them in under my**_

 _ **upper lip, pretending I was a vampire.**_

" _ **Daddy." Her laughter rang out.**_

" _ **I am the big broccoli vampire and I come to eat your carrot**_ _ **s**_ _ **," I said, putting on my best Count ascent.**_

" _ **The count likes numbers, daddy, not vegetables," she said, with her little arms folded across her chest.**_

 _There was a knock at my door, that snapped me out of my daydream. I sat up and straightened myself, wiping the tears from my eyes._

" _Come in," I called out._

" _Mr. Swan?" A young boy asked nervously. He stepped into my office, with an envelope in his hand and a FedX uniform._

" _Yes."_

" _This is for you, sir. Have a good day," he said, putting the envelope on my desk. He was quick to leave after that._

 _I picked up the small white envelope that only had my name on it, there was no sender, not even a company stamp._

 _I flipped it over and tore it open, pulling out the small piece of paper inside._

 _ **Charles,**_

 _ **11pm tonight, 73rd and 188th street, Queens.**_

 _ **A black ford will collect you and take you to your daughter.**_

 _ **If you show anyone this letter, she dies.**_

 _ **If you wear a wire, she dies.**_

 _ **If you do not show, she dies.**_

 _ **If you are late, she dies.**_

 _ **Do not make a mistake Charles, I am watching your every move.**_

 _ **Go to the window and burn this note, or she dies.**_

 _ **I look forward to seeing you tonight.**_

 _ **Regards,**_

 _ **A friend.**_

 _I read the note and reread it again. I looked out my window, looking out in a frantic panic. Someone was watching me. I looked down at the street, at the people walking, at the cars driving by. It was a typical busy day. The building across, my eyes scanned the place, the rooftop, every window, trying to find something, someone that may be watching me. There was nothing, nothing out of the usual._

 _My daughter, my ballerina was alive, I knew she was._

 _I swallowed the lump in my throat and retrieved a lighter I had in my desk. I stood in front of the window and burned the note. I watched the piece of paper become nothing but ash on the windowsill._

 _The only thought_ _that was_ _running through my mind_ _was that_ _I would soon see my baby._

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _10:59pm. I was checking my watch every five seconds. I was here on time, so where the hell were they?_

 _I did exactly what that note said. I was here on time, so where the hell were they?_

 _I didn't tell Uley about the note, he saw me acting funny, he said he knew I was up to something. I told him he was overreacting and I was only sleep deprived. I wanted to get as far away from him as possible. If whoever this person was saw me burn their note, then they would see Uley sitting in my office. They threatened to kill my baby girl and I would not take that sort of risk._

 _Truth be told, I had no idea what I was about to be dragged into or what I would see. I wasn't stupid, I knew that there was a chance that I would not see my ballerina tonight, but I would not give up, no matter what, I would try and I would fight with everything that I had in me, I will fight until I have my baby back in my arms where she belongs._

 _11pm on the dot, a black ford stopped in front of me. The driver didn't get out, he let the passenger window down halfway and told me to get into the passenger seat. I opened the door and climbed in._

" _Put your hands in your lap," he said. His face was covered with a balaclava, he had on a thick leather jacket and gloves. The only recognizable feature_ _was_ _his blue eyes._

 _I did as he said, I put my hands on lap. He slapped the cold metal cuffs around my wrists._

" _That isn't necessary," I said._

" _Shh."_

 _He leaned over me and took a black blindfold out of the glove box._

" _Please," I begged._

" _I told you to keep your mouth shut or I will kick your ass out of this car and then…" He said, running his thumb across his neck._

 _We drove for twenty, maybe thirty minutes, it could have been more, it could have been less. I kept my mouth shut the whole ride. When the car came to a stop, he removed my blindfold, and undid the cuffs. He climbed out of the car and opened my door._

" _Get out," he said, pointing a gun at me. I'd be stupid to say I wasn't afraid. I was afraid of death, but I had a reason to live, I was not ready to die now._

 _I did as he said, I climbed out and noticed_ _that_ _we were under the Manhattan bridge, it was a section of the bridge that was dark, not a single ray of light touched this one spot._

 _I looked around, expecting to see someone else here, another car, Isabella, but it was only me and him._

" _Where are we?" I asked._

" _Take your clothes off," he said, as he threw a duffle bag at me._

" _What?"_

" _Take your clothes off, your underwear too."_

 _I swallowed all my pride, there was no room and no time for embarrassment. I had worked enough time and had done enough RICO cases to know how these people operated. He thought I was possibly wearing a device._

" _I don't have anything on me. I did exactly as you said," I said, now standing naked in the freezing cold._

 _He stepped behind me and put his hand on my back. "Bend forward," he said._

" _What?" My voice shook._

" _Don't worry, you're not my type," he said. "Now bend the fuck forward." He pushed the gun into my kidney._

 _I bit the inside of my cheek, not wanting to scream, not wanting to make a sound. I did it, I bent forward until my fingers touched my toes. He stood there behind me for a brief moment and then he stepped in front of me and put his free hand in my hair, ruffling it, seeing if something dropped out._

" _There are clothes in that bag, put them on, and hurry the fuck up, we don't have all night," he said._

 _Twenty minutes later, I was blindfolded once more and handcuffed. He left the Ford under the bridge and picked up another car from a nearby parking lot._

" _Where are you taking me?" I asked._

" _To see your daughter," he said._

" _Is she okay? How is she? What have you done to her?" I rushed out. But he said nothing more after that._

" _We're_ _here," he finally spoke after a long silence. I felt the car come to a stop and felt myself being yanked out._

 _He dragged me around. We were no longer outside, I was sure of that, but it was still cold._

" _Yes boss," I heard two voices say in uni_ _s_ _on._

" _Oh look who we have here," someone else said. I recognized that voice. I was right, I had been right all along._

" _His clothes and everything else are back at the location," the one behind me said. He pushed me down onto a chair and left me there, taking the blindfold off._

" _Where's my daughter," I said, turning my head to get a glimpse of Anthony._

" _What, no hello, no nothing?" He pouted. He was a sick person. This was all a joke to him, as if my daughter's life was nothing but a game for him to play with. That's what this was to him though, it was a game._

" _Where is she, Anthony?" I yelled._

" _I did promise you could see her, didn't I."_

" _Anthony, let's get this over with, I've skipped dinner, I'm hungry," Edward said, stepping into my line of view._

" _What have you two done to my daughter?" I yelled louder, fighting against the cuffs, hoping maybe somehow I would break free of them._

" _Oh come on now Charles, we haven't done anything to her, in fact, we have been nothing but nice to her, isn't that right, brother," Anthony said, looking down at me with a sinister smirk on his face._

" _You know," Edward said, stepping in front of me, he grabbed my chin roughly and forced me to look him in the eye. "I should put a bullet in between your eyes. You are nothing but a traitor, scum. The dirt on the bottom of my shoe hold more value than you."_

 _This was all my fault. My greed and my betrayal. I had caused all this. I had brought my ballerina into this. If I would have been a smart man, I would have walked away from Carlisle Cullen's offer all those years ago. But I wasn't a smart man, I was greedy and selfish and now I was paying the ultimate price, a price that was worse than death._

" _Kill me, kill me Edward, please. But please let my daughter go, she's not a part of any of this," I begged. I would take death for her, I would take it all if they let her go._

" _I am not going to kill you Charles. I will not show that sort of mercy," Edward said, snapping his fingers. He stood up and hit something on the wall in front. The black window now clear. There stood my little girl looking frantically around, as two men walked in._

" _Oh, what do we have here," Anthony smiled. "Isn't that your little girl," he mocked._

" _What the hell are you doing to her?" I yelled._

" _Shh, watch and enjoy the show."_

 _One of them grabbed Isabella from behind, dragging her back with him until his back touched the wall. The other one that was in the room, licked his lips as he stalked towards my little girl. He stood in front of her, grabbing her leg roughly and throwing it around his waist. She cried, I could hear her screaming pleas, yet all Anthony and his brother did was stand there watching, watching my baby hurt, watching those animals attack her._

 _I screamed as loud as I could until I felt my throat close up but I didn't stop._

 _I closed my eyes, I wasn't able to watch this anymore, I couldn't see my little ballerina in that much pain._

 _"Look Charles, look at that," Anthony said, forcing his head to look back towards the window._

 _"Anthony please, please Anthony stop this," I cried. "Do what you want to me. Leave my baby alone, I'm begging you."_

 _"Shh, watch," he said. "Watch your precious little girl become a whore. Look at that Charles."_

 _I fell out of the chair and onto my knees, a sharp pain shot through me, but it was nothing compared to the pain I was watching. My little ballerina, she was so close to me, yet I couldn't help her, I couldn't protect her. They hurt her, they tore her apart and when they were done, they threw her on the floor like a used piece of meat._

" _Get him out of here," I heard one of them say. No, no, no I wasn't leaving, I would not leave here without my baby._

 _Anthony towered over me, he grabbed my hair and looked me dead in the eyes._

 _"You see that Charles, you see your little girl. This is all your fault, remember that," he said. "Jasper, take this piece of crap away," he called out._

 _I felt myself being dragged away. No matter how hard I fought, it was no use. The blindfold, it did nothing now, no matter what I could never erase the image of my little ballerina, her pain, her suffering and knowing it was all my fault._

 _When the car stopped, he dragged me out. He took the cuffs and blindfold off. I changed back into my clothes, it was a robotic action because I was numb, I couldn't feel a thing, only the pain in my heart and in my head._

 _He got back in his car and drove away, leaving me under the bridge. I fell to my knees and screamed as loud as my lungs would let me. I cried banging my fist on the solid ground, breaking my fingers as I did so, but I didn't feel the_ _m_ _break._

 _I wanted to claw my eyes out, to wash my mind out with bleach, anything that would get that image out of my head._

" _My ballerina," I cried._


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **WARNING: This chapter contains mention of violence.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN**_

 _Nothing, that's what I felt, nothing. I was an empty hole void of all emotions, and feelings and pain._

 _I couldn't come to terms with what had happened or didn't happen. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. What had been the point of all that?_

 _Why stage a rape? What was Anthony playing at? Was this another sick way of torturing me?_

 _Why was he holding me here? What had I done?_

 _Question after question after unanswered questions. No matter in which direction I ran, I always ended up with nothing._

 _It was now nine in the morning, or so the clock on the bedside said. I hadn't slept a wink last night, how could I? I was tired, yet I was more alert than ever, but I still don't remember how I ended up where I am now._

 _They didn't take me back to that house, nor did Anthony put me back in his basement._

 _Looking out the window, I was in an apartment, forty, maybe fifty stories up, right in the middle of Manhattan._

 _This was another trick, another joke, something else for Anthony to laugh at. Bringing me here so close to freedom and the outside world, yet it was out of reach._

 _I sat on the bed with the TV remote in my hand for a long time. I debated turning it on, I don't know why I was hesitant, it shouldn't be a big deal. The bedroom door opened and on instinct I threw the remote across the bed and backed up against the headboard. James came in. I couldn't quite understand the expression on his face, although I did notice the bruise on his left side._

" _Boss wants you in the kitchen now," he said, but avoided eye contact with me._

 _Who was he referring to? Anthony or Edward? I jumped out of the bed and fixed the skirt that I had on from last night, pulling it down as far as it would go, knowing that I didn't have any underwear on, but no matter how much I pulled, it still only reached mid thigh._

 _Without having any other choice, I dragged my feet behind James. He kept his distance from me, and for that I was very thankful, I could not_ _bear_ _him touching me right now, not after what he had done._

 _My heart felt as if it were going to beat right out of my chest and fall on the floor. I was nervous and I was scared for myself. What were they planning on doing to me now? Was last night just a practice, to see how I would react to the real thing?_

" _Ahh, sleeping beauty awakes," Anthony said. He was standing in the kitchen in front of a fry_ _ing_ _pan, cooking. This image of him took me off guard. He was wearing a pair of gray lounge pants and nothing else. His chest was exposed, revealing his toned chest and abdomen, he flexed when he noticed where my eyes had stopped._ _What an asshole_ _asshole, I thought._

 _I quickly averted my eyes away from him. Looking around the large open living area, it was a kitchen, living room, and dinning room all joined together._

 _The one thing that stood out,_ _was that_ _everything was clean, crisp, and white. The only color_ _in the room was_ _provided by the occasional scattered art piece. It was beautiful, but the place felt more like a gallery than a home._

 _Whatever Anthony was making, it smelled incredible and my rumbling stomach agreed._

" _When was the last time you had something to eat?" Edward asked, coming to a standstill close behind me. His close proximity and his voice made me jump back and right into his chest. He grabbed me around the waist and held me_ _close to him,_ _not letting go._

 _Right now, I couldn't stand someone touching me. His hold, although gentle, it was unfamiliar and unwelcomed. I tried to squirm away, hoping he would get the hint and let me go, but he wasn't having any of that._

" _Please let me go," I said, my voice shaking._

" _Calm down, gattina. I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered close to my ear._

 _I believed him last night and look at what happened. No, I wouldn't believe a word that comes out of his mouth anymore. Edward was no better than his twin, they were the same monster, the only difference was, one didn't hide what he was while the other covered his true self up with a pretty smile and nice words._

" _Please," I tried again. He turned me around to him, grabbing a hold of my chin. His eyes searching mine, for what, I don't know, but he must not have liked what he found. He frowned, letting go of my chin with a deep sigh._

" _Did you get any sleep last night?" He asked. Why did he care? What was it to him? "And don't lie to me, bambolina."_

 _Bambolina? What was that? What were all these words that he kept calling me? Surely he knew I didn't understand a thing he said?_

" _No," I answered._

" _Why not?"_

" _Because I couldn't sleep."_

" _Breakfast," Anthony called out cheerfully._

 _Here we were, the five of us sitting around the table eating breakfast as if we were all friends, one big family even._

 _They ate, I watched. Edward sat at the head of the table, I was on his right with Anthony next to me, and in front of us were James and Garrett, I remembered him well. I made the mistake of closing my eyes and my mind flashed to visions of last night, of Garrett holding me, of James…._

 _I snapped my eyes open and involuntarily shuddered at my thoughts. Anthony turned his attention on me._

" _You haven't touched your food." He noticed. "What? You don't like my cooking?"_

" _I'm not hungry," I mumbled._

" _Yes, you are. Stop the bullshit and eat, or else," he warned, his tone serious and it left no room for arguments._

" _Brother," Edward warned, his tone just as sever_ _e_ _as Anthony's had been. "And you, eat."_

 _Not wanting to anger either of them, and not wanting to be on the receiving end of the consequences of their anger, I picked up my knife and fork and began cutting into my pancakes. They were good, I'm not going to lie, but I wasn't going to give Anthony the satisfaction of knowing that._

 _I finished everything that Edward had put on my plate, I guess I hadn't realized how hungry I actually was, but I was still surprised with myself that I had an appetite for such a large meal._

" _I think you should go take a shower and nap," Edward said._

" _I don't want to take a nap," I said, glaring at him. The liar, the traitor._

" _Suit yourself," he shrugged. "But I think you should."_

" _I spoke with Jasper earlier, he took Alice to grab some things for her," Anthony said, looking at me with his hands full of dirty dishes._

 _Jasper. Jasper was the blonde haired man, the man that took me, I will never forget him, but who the hell was Alice and what had she gotten for me?_

 _Looking around at the four men that had made my life a nightmare, I became more and more confused._

 _When Anthony had me locked down in the basement, that made sense. When I was locked in the bedroom at the estate, that made sense. But this, right here, right now, this made no sense. Their behavior made no sense._

 _How could they be this way, this calm as if last night hadn't happened?_

 _Garrett was now sitting on the sofa with his feet up on the coffee table, scrolling through the TV channels, while James had left the room._

 _Anthony was loading the dishwasher and Edward still sat at the table, all his attention on his phone._

 _No one paid me any attention, in fact, they were acting oblivious to my presence all together._

 _I wondered what would happen if I stood up? Would someone follow me? What's the worst that could happen if I tried?_

 _I had nothing to lose, and so with that in mind, I stood up from my seat. No one seemed to notice my movement, not Edward beside me, or Anthony across the room, not even Garrett._

 _Feeling braver, I stepped away from the table and still, nothing._

" _There is an ensuite in your room if you want to take a shower, and I'm sure Anthony can find you something to wear until Jasper arrives with your things," Edward said, not bothering to look up at me at all. "Don't just stand there, fiorellina."_

 _Fiorellina? What was it with this man and his nicknames. For all I know he could be calling me a monkey's ass, but the way his voice sounded when he spoke Italian was...No, what is wrong with me, he's a monster, he is no better than his brother, in fact, I think he is worse._

" _Jasper and Alice are coming up," Anthony said. He came around from the kitchen to where I was now standing. I took a few steps back, but he reached me fast, grabbing my wrist, he pulled me forward into his bare chest. My hands pushed against him wanting to break free from his hold. He held me around my waist with one hand and the other he moved my hair away from my shoulder and cupping my cheek._

" _Behave," he warned. "Don't make me punish you, little lamb," he said, bringing his lips down to mine. I didn't fight him, I let him kiss me, but_ _I_ _offered him nothing in return. "You taste like heaven and hell together," he whispered in my ear, so_ _only_ _the two of could hear._

 _His words left me confused and with a feeling I didn't understand, it made my skin tingle, in pleasure, in frustration that he could have this effect on me, and in pure disgust, all mixed together._

 _I stood back and watched them. Jasper walked in with his hands full of bags and placed them on the dining table, he was followed by a woman. She was a tiny little thing, even compared to me. She had shoulder length b_ _l_ _ack hair and bright blue eyes that stuck out against her pale skin, that must be Alice._

 _Edward and Anthony seemed preoccupied with Jasper and Alice. Garrett was the only one that didn't seem_ _fazed by their presence, and James was still nowhere in sight._

 _And then it caught my eye, the door, that Jasper and Alice had come in, had been left ajar._

 _This was it, this was my chance, I thought. Could I make it to that door and out before they realized what I was doing? No one was looking at me._

 _But what if I didn't make it, what if they caught me?_

 _I started breathing heavily and I knew I had to stop before I drew any attention to myself. I had to do this. I could do this, I could make it, I had to try. Trying was better than saying I did nothing at all._

 _Very slowly, I walked towards the open door, walking on the tips of my toes as not to make any sound. They didn't notice me, not yet. This was almost too easy._

 _When I was close enough to the door, I sprinted and shoved the door open running out into the hallway._

" _GET HER!" I heard Anthony yell. "FUCKING GO AFTER HER!"_

 _I couldn't wait for the elevator. I ran to the emergency stairs, running as fast as I could and praying that I wouldn't fall. I was aware that I was forty, maybe fifty stories up, but if I made it to the bottom, if I made it outside, I knew I would be free._

 _I kept running down the stairs two at a time. I didn't hear anyone behind me, but I wasn't going to give myself false hope. The chances were_ _that_ _someone was waiting for me downstairs, but my plan was to get off on the first level and seek another exit. I didn't care what it was even if I had to jump out a window, I would gladly do it._

 _I had reached level thirty-two when the door swung open and Anthony ran_ _through the door and caused me to run_ _right into him._

" _NO, let me go!" I screamed._

" _You stupid girl," he said, gritting his teeth. He grabbed a fistfull of my hair and slammed my face into the wall in front. I cried out, but it only made his anger grow. "What the fuck were you thinking?" He yelled, dragging me by my hair and pushing me to the ground. I fell hard on my knees. He kicked me once in the ribs and then pulled me back up to my feet._

" _Please, Anthony, please," I begged, through my sobs._

" _Shut the fuck up," he said, backhanding me._

 _I could taste blood on my lips, the taste of which made my stomach turn and before I knew it, I leaned over Anthony and emptied my stomach over the balustrade._

 _So close, I had been so close. I cried, how did he know where to find me? How did he know I was right there at that point?_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ANTHONY CULLEN**_

" _You can't fucking listen, can you," I spat as I pushed her back into the apartment, this time locking the door. She tripped and fell at my feet like the pathetic excuse she was. Her nose was bleeding all over my floor, making one fucking mess._

" _Garrett, go take care of the security footage from the hallway and stairwell," my brother said._

 _I didn't want to hurt her, not today, not now. I had big plans for her and she had to fucking go and ruin them. I can't do anything with her damaged._

 _Looking at her crying on the floor at my feet, it tugged at me, it made me feel something somewhere deep in me, and I hated her for that, I hated her for having this effect on me. She's nothing but a traitor's daughter, a pawn in game. I should feel no sympathy towards her._

 _I kicked her in the stomach once more, but it only made me feel like shit watching her_ _in_ _pain. She didn't cry out, the only sound was her soft sobbing and that angered me more._

 _I grabbed her hair, forcing her head up, forcing her to look at me._

 _Somewhere in the room, I heard Alice's horrified gasps._

" _Keep your fucking mouth shut," Jasper said._

" _Anthony, let go of her now," my brother said._

 _I dragged Isabella back up to her_ _feet_ _by her hair. I turned her into my arms and held her firmly. "You pull another fucking stunt like that again, little lamb, I was nice this time, next time you're going to beg for death," I said, pushing into Edward's arms. He caught her easily and buried her head in his chest, making his white shirt a mess with her blood._

" _Esci. Cosa c'è di sbagliato con te?" He said._

" _Me?" I yelled. "What the fuck is wrong with you? This is my house and I'm not going anywhere."_

" _Testa di cazzo." He shouted, making Isabella jump back from his hold. He picked her up and carried her out of the room._

 _I took a moment to calm myself down. Taking a few deep breaths, I went to the kitchen sink and washed my hands of my little lambs blood._

" _Take all those bags to the bedroom on the left," I said to Jasper._

 _Jasper nodded, scooping up the bags from the dining table, Alice was quick to follow behind him._

" _You, stay here," I told her. "You're a what? Beautician, hair stylist? What?"_

" _Yeah, I am," she said._

" _I got a job for you."_

" _Okay," she said, but her reluctance was clear._

" _If you open your mouth to anyone about that bitch, things are not going to turn out so well for you and your little family," I warned._

" _I'm not an idiot, Mr. Cullen, but her face is everywhere," Alice said, playing with the hem of her sweater._

" _That's what I want you to do. I want you to make her unrecognizable," I said._

" _Alright, I can do that. Right now? I don't have any of my things with me."_

" _No, she's not in any condition today," I smirked. "I'll have someone pick you up tomorrow and bring you back here."_

 _I walked around Alice and opened the closet by the front door, pushing the little fake wall behind the coats and taking out a handful of cash. There was at least ten grand there, and I handed it all to Alice._

" _I want you to buy her some things," I said._

" _But we already did," she said._

" _I want you to get her some formal dresses, and I want you to get her one of those ballerina things," I said._

" _Ballerina things?" Alice gave me a strange look._

" _You_ _know, those_ _shoes,_ _and_ _those dress things. I don't know what they're called Alice, you've got two girls, shouldn't you know this stuff?"_

" _You mean a tutu? I can do that," she nodded._

" _Let me know if you need more," I said, motioning to the cash in her hand._

" _Oh no, this should be more than enough," she said. "Can I ask you a question, Mr. Cullen?"_

" _What?" I sighed impatiently._

 _Alice hesitated, chewing on her lip. She was nervous. What the hell did she want to know?_

" _What are you going to do with her?"_

" _That's a stupid question," I said as Jasper reappeared. "If she says one fucking word, you're both dead," I told him._

" _Don't worry about Alice, she knows better than to open her mouth," Jasper assured me._

 _Alice better keep her mouth shut, but I knew she would. Alice is afraid of my family and I know Jasper will keep her in line, after all, it would be a shame if anything were to happen to their two little girls._

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _I had left Edward with my little lamb back at my apartment. The image of her bloodied face was embedded in my mind. It was all I could see, all I could think about. It was driving me crazy because I felt bad, I felt like a monster for what I had done to her, yet she was the one that ran away._

 _It didn't matter what I felt, because I had big plans for Isabella. She thinks she can have an effect on me, she thinks she can warm me up. She's no better than her traitor father, in fact, she may be worse. She thinks she can make me feel, she doesn't know that I don't feel._

" _What are you so deep in thought about?" My mother asked._

" _Nothing you need to worry about," I said._

" _I always worry about you, Anthony. What's going on with you? You've been different these past few weeks, you're not yourself."_

" _I'm fine, I promise," I said, kissing her cheek. "I'm thinking about dad. I'm waiting for Rosalie to come up with something, anything so we can have him back," I lied. My mother was very good at reading people and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that she didn't buy what I had said, but she also didn't push further._

" _Uncle...Wait, which one are you?" Sofia asked, running into the room._

" _I'm the bad one," I said, and my mother smacked my chest with the back of her hand._

" _You are not bad, Uncle Anthony. You're a good boy," little Sofia said, playing with the candy bar wrapper she had in her hand._

" _Is that so?" I laughed._

" _You're a teddy bear, Uncle Anthony, a super duper, extra squishy big teddy bear," Sofia said, running up and wrapping her little arms around my neck, I didn't hug her back._

" _I am not a fucking teddy bear," I said._

" _Anthony, watch your language," my mother scolded._

" _Please get her off of me."_

" _Shut up, Anthony and hug me," Sofia said._

 _Finally the little brat let go of me, when she realized, no matter how insistent she was, I was not going to hug her back._

" _Nonna, where's nonno? I miss him," Sofia asked._

"" _He misses you too, sweetheart," mom said._

" _But where is he? Mommy and daddy won't tell me."_

 _Talking about my father was hard on my mother, even after all these weeks she still hasn't come to terms with what's happened._

" _Nonno, had to go away on a business trip," I said._

" _Business?" She frowned her little brows._

" _Yeah, yo_ _u know, like_ _when your daddy has to go away sometimes to work. Well, that's what nonno is doing right now. But nonno's business is taking a lot longer than he thought."_

" _But he'll be back soon, right?"_

" _Yes, he will, I promise," I said, as my mother glared back at me._

" _Good," Sofia smiled. "Because my new piano teacher is not as good as nonno and she smells too." She scrunched up her little nose._

 _My niece was an incredibly beautiful child. She was outspoken and smart and I almost feel bad for Emmett when she grows up._

 _Sofia looks so much like Rosalie, and right now, Sofia's mother was on my last nerve._

" _I'm going to find your mother," I said._

 _Rosalie was in our father's office with Aro, who had insisted he help her work on her case._

 _Aro, who was no_ _w_ _wheelchair bound, had become very compliant and even admitted, he should have done more during the trial._

" _Have you two figured something out yet?" I said._

" _I'm not a damn machine, Anthony. These things take time," my sister snapped._

" _You've had almost eight weeks, Rosalie. How much fucking time do you need?"_

" _Anthony," Aro said, wheeling himself around to face me. I saw the fear and anger in his eyes as he faced me, the man who crippled him and put him in a wheelchair for the remainder of his days. But Aro got what he deserved, in fact, he should be thankful that he was able to get away with his life after the things he had said._

 _You see, people think that words are just that, words. Why attack someone when no actions have been done?_

 _Why wait for action? Aro may have only spoken words, but words plant ideas into people's head, and those ideas turn into actions._

" _Your sister is right. This could take some time, a year if not more."_

" _A year? A fucking year?" I yelled._

 _A year, maybe more. We didn't have a year. Our father didn't have a year. He could not spend a year or possibly more in that filth._

" _What the hell do you want from me, Anthony?" Rosalie yelled back. "I'm doing the best I can with the information I have. It takes time to_ _build_ _up a case. We want to prove that the NYPD obtained their evidence illegally through Charles. We need to make sure that we have a solid case, that there are no loop holes, no surprises, and that takes time," she hissed._

" _Sorry," I said. She was right. She couldn't rush things, that's how mistakes were made. We needed to make sure we had all_ _of_ _our bases covered, there was no room for errors. I could wait a year. I could be patient for a year, and then I_ _would_ _convince our father that I was_ _the_ _better_ _choice_ _to lead,_ _not_ _my brother._


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN.**_

 _Edward was very different from his brother and at times it was hard to believe they were even twins._

 _With Edward, no matter what he said, or what threats he delivered, I don't believe he would actually hurt me, not like Anthony at least._

 _I wanted to make sense of Edward, of why he was so calm, attentive and caring, but I always kept coming up blank. I knew that under this man he pretended to be, was a dark man, maybe more so than his brother and I don't think that was a side of him I wanted to see._

" _Why are you being nice to me?" I asked, as he helped clean up the blood from my face. His hand stilled as he looked at me._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _I ran away, well, I tried to. Shouldn't you be mad at me?"_

" _I am mad at you, very much so, but I also don't blame you for trying. As stupid as your attempt may have been, you were very brave to try such a stunt, especially with so many of us here," he said._

 _My attempt had not been stupid. Anyone else in my position would have done the same thing. I would have made it too, I would have escaped them had it not been for Anthony's convenient timing._

" _How about you take that shower now and a nap. Your eyes are bloodshot."_

" _I don't want to sleep," I said, stubbornly. I was afraid of my own mind and what I would see when I closed my eyes. I knew avoiding sleep would be impossible, but I would fight it as long as I could._

" _Suit yourself. There are more towels in the cupboard over there and when you're done, everything you need is in the bedroom," he said_ _while_ _standing up. He left me in the bathroom, and took the bloodied hand towel with him._

 _I took a hot shower, letting the scalding water cascade down my body. I scrubbed my skin raw. Somehow, I thought that if I scrubbed hard enough, maybe I could scrub all my problems away as well and the memory of last night._

 _In the bedroom, spread out across the bed were bags and bags of clothing. There was everything from pyjamas to underwear, denim, even socks and shoes, all in my size._

 _I picked out a pair of cotton underwear and a pair of pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt._

 _I removed all the bags from the bed and put them on the floor_ _in_ _the walk-in closet. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with them, if I should take them out and hang them up or not._

 _Sighing deeply, I pulled the covers back and climbed in the bed. I was tired and I couldn't fight it anymore, no matter how hard I tried. It was better being in here than out there. I didn't want to face Anthony, not again, no_ _t_ _today._

 _I closed my eyes and let sleep take over._

 _When I woke up, I was surprised to see it was still light outside. I put my hands above my head and stretched, a decision I regretted instantly. My lower abdomen still hurt from Anthony's blows, although it wasn't as bad as previous times._

 _I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and splashed some cold water on my face. I don't know how long I've been asleep for, but I felt refreshed. I guess I didn't really know how tired I was and I was thankful I had a dreamless sleep._

 _I hurried out of the bathroom. I didn't_ _spend too mu_ _ch time looking in the mirror. I already_ _had seen_ _the damage to my face, I didn't need to spend any more time looking at it._

 _When I came out of the bathroom, Edward was sitting on the bed waiting for me._

" _Good morning, fiorellina," he said, offering me a small smile._

" _Morning?" I asked confused. I couldn't have slept that long, could I?_

" _Yes. You slept for almost twenty-four hours. You had me worried, gattina, I came to check on_ _you_ _many times yesterday to make sure you were still alive," he chuckled._

" _Unfortunately, I am," I said, standing awkwardly in the doorframe of the bathroom. His eyes narrowed and he stood up, walking over to me with a look I've never seen on Edward before. Right now, I didn't know if he was really Edward or Anthony. I stayed frozen in in place, it was as if my feet were cemented to this spot. I watched him with wide eyes as he reached_ _for_ _me and grabbed my jaw._

' _Don't ever say something like that again," he warned._

" _Why not?" I asked. What would it matter if I died? They were going to kill me anyway, weren't they? What were they waiting for?_

" _Because I am not going to let you die," he said, releasing my jaw._

" _Edward, can you please tell me why I'm here? What have I done?" I asked._

 _It was the million dollar question that everyone avoided answering. Anthony pretend_ _ed_ _I never said anything and James would always change the subject. It's not fair, I've been with them for two months. They have taken me away from my life, my family, everything that I loved. I deserved to know why the hell I was here._

" _Fiorellina, you still don't know? My brother still has not told you?" He asked._

" _Your brother doesn't tell me anything. All your brother does is hit me," I said, pointing to my face._

 _He sighed and brought his hand back up to my face. I flinched away, but that didn't stop him. He ran the back of his fingers over my bruised cheek with the lightest of touch._

" _I am sorry for the way Anthony has treated you, and I can promise you, he will not lay another finger on you," he said._

" _You can't promise me that."_

" _He won't," he insisted. What power did Edward have to stop his brother from hurting me? And if he cared so much, why didn't he stop him yesterday instead of standing by and watching him abuse me?_

" _Don't make promises you can't keep, Edward," I said, gently swatting his hand away from my face. "Can you please answer my question? You all owe me that much."_

" _Gattina, you are here through no fault of your own. You haven't done anything wrong. You are simply...Revenge," he said, not taking his eyes off of me. He was guarding my reaction carefully._

 _Revenge? Revenge for what? For who?_

" _What are you talking about?" I asked, confused_ _even more now t_ _han ever._

" _You really don't know do you? Do you know what your father does for a living?"_

" _My father is the district attorney. What does that have to do with anything?" I asked._

" _My father and yours were very good friends, until your father decided to stab mine in the back," he spat the words out like acid._

" _I don't understand, what did my father do?" My dad was an amazing man, he was loving and friendly. He would never betray his own friend like Edward had claimed._

" _My father is Carlisle Cullen. He is a very powerful man, gattina. The FBI and NYPD have been trying for a very long time to infiltrate our organization, but they have always failed because we do not allow outsiders into our higher ranks. My father paid Charles well. Given your father's position, my father used him as, well, let's call him an insider informant," Edward said, backing away from me, he sat back down on the bed._

" _But Charles, he betrayed my father and my family. He used the information to build up a case against my father and now he is serving a fifteen year sentence in a federal prison."_

 _I let the information Edward had given me sink in. I was here as revenge against my father. They were using me to get to him. But my father, he wouldn't do this stuff. He was a lawyer._

" _So, your family, they're what? In the mob? You're the mafia? A gang? Terrorist? What?" My head was_ _drowning_ _with the new information. I never expected Edward to give me any answers, not as much as he had anyways._

" _We are the mafia, fiorellina. My father is at the very top, the boss if you will, and with him locked away, I am taking his place," he said._

" _You're the boss now?" I asked and he nodded. "And Anthony is?"_

" _My second in command."_

" _Right." Mafia? My father had been involved with the mafia? I knew a few things about the mafia. I had seen all the typical movies, Goodfellas, Scarface, The Godfather, even Once Upon A Time In America. But to be s_ _t_ _anding now face to face with a...A...A mobster, to find out that my father had been involved with these people, it made my stomach turn, it made me uneasy._

" _You alright there, gattina?" Edward asked._

" _Why do you keep calling me that? What does it mean?" I asked. Did he not know it was rude to call people names?_

" _Do you want some coffee?" He asked, ignoring my question._

" _Yes, please."_

" _Come on," he said, offering me his hand. "I'm not going to bite you," he joked. I stood there staring at his outstretched hand, debating with myself if I should take_ _it_ _or not. The man just admitted to being in the mafia, I should be scared of him, I should be screaming for my life now. But I can't...I don't understand why Edward makes me feel almost...safe. That is the stupidest thing, I thought. They kidnapped me and yet I feel safe with him?_

 _I took his hand. He wrapped his fingers around my palm, his touch was warm and welcoming, and I hated myself for feeling this way. I hated the fact that my stomach was fluttering and my heart was running a marathon from his little touch._

 _I sat at the kitchen bench as Edward went around and made me a cup of coffee from the machine. I noticed Garrett was sitting at the dining table with a laptop in front of him showing something to James, both of them didn't acknowledge the fact I was here._

" _Here," Edward said, sliding the cup over to me with a canister of sugar and a teaspoon._

" _Thank you," I said._

" _I'll make you something to eat."_

 _It was around mid-afternoon when the door rang. As Edward went to open the door, Garrett came and sat beside me on the couch, putting his hand around my shoulder. I got the message loud and clear, don't try anything funny again._

" _Here is the dresses Anthony asked for and the tutu thing, I had to order. The lady said it will take about a week to arrive," Alice said. I remember her from yesterday. Why was she here now?_

" _Fiorellina, come here," Edward called out. Again with the Italian._

" _Hi Isabella," Alice said, smiling at me._

" _Hi."_

" _Fiorellina, Alice is going to do your…" He trailed off scratching the back of his head. I looked between the two of them with worry. What was Alice going to do to me that had Edward this lost for words._

" _Isabella, don't worry," Alice said. "I'm here to give you a makeover," she announced cheerfully._

" _A makeover?" I questioned._

" _That's the word," Edward said._

" _Why do I need a makeover?"_

" _Because I can't have you out in public if someone can recognize you," Anthony said, coming into the room. Where had he come from? Has he been here all along? I wondered._

 _At the sound of his voice, my body tensed because he didn't sound happy, he didn't even_ _sound_ _normal. Anthony sounded angry and one glance in his direction confirmed that._

" _Calm down," Edward said, putting his hand on my back. "I promised you, didn't I?" But his promise didn't mean anything._

" _Come on, let's go get you all dolled up," Alice said taking my hand. The two of us went back to the bedroom I had been put in. Passing Anthony, I thought I saw his face soften when he looked at me, but that couldn't be._

 _Alice_ _pulled behind her_ _a wheeled case. She set it up in the middle of the room. She put down a large b_ _l_ _ack plastic cover over the carpet and put a chair in the middle._

" _Come on, sit down," she instructed._

" _What are you going to do to me?" I asked._

" _I'm going to cut and color your hair."_

 _Color my hair? I didn't want to color my hair. I didn't want to do any of this, but I knew I didn't have a choice. I could either do this willingly, or Alice would probably go and tell Edward or worse, Anthony._

" _How short are you going to cut my hair?" I asked, reluctantly sitting down._

" _Not too short. Anthony's instructions." She winked._

" _What?"_

" _He said, he prefers your hair stay longer. I'm going to cut you a side fringe and then layer your hair out. I'm going to color your hair dark."_

" _How dark?" I worried. Did it really matter?_

" _You have a beautiful skin tone, you're going to look great with a dark shade of brown, trust me," she assured me._

 _I couldn't fight this and without another option, I sat back in the chair and closed my eyes and let Alice do her thing. We didn't speak to each other, there was nothing I could say to her anyway, she was working for Anthony after all._

 _After two hours of Alice cutting and coloring and blow drying my hair, she was finally done._

 _I stood in front of the mirror almost afraid to open my eyes._

" _Come on, Isabella, don't be like that. You look beautiful, incredible. I promise," Alice said._

 _I blew out a big breath and slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times. I almost didn't recognize the person staring back at me. Damn it, I didn't want to like it but I did. The side fringe thing Alice had done, was nice. She had left my hair long like she said, like Anthony ordered, and the color, I had never had dark hair, but I liked it._

" _Wow," was all I could say._

" _See, what did I tell you. You look stunning. Now let's get your make-up done so I can go home," she said._

" _Make-up? Why do I need my make-up done?" I asked._

" _I'm only doing what I was told to do. You'll have to ask Anthony anything else."_

 _Anthony, right. There was one thing I didn't understand, if Edward claimed to be the boss, or at least stepping in for his father, why did it seem like Anthony was the one calling the shots? Or were they in on whatever this was together?_

" _Why are you doing this Alice? Why are you helping them?" I asked. Alice looked like such a beautiful person. She looked to be nice and kind hearted, not the sort of person I would imagine associating with men of the mafia._

" _This may sound bad to you, but I am getting paid to do this," she said. "I'm sorry for what has happened to you, but I'm not in a position where I can question neither one of Mr. Cullen's decisions."_

" _How do you know Jasper?" I asked._

" _What?" She looked a little taken aback by my question._

" _Jasper, the blonde haired man_ _whose hair is_ _pulled back into a ponytail, that's Jasper right? He…" I trailed off._

" _What did he do?" Alice asked, bending down in front of me, grabbing onto my hand._

" _He took me from my home. He kidnapped me and put me in the back of a car and brought me to some filthy basement," I spat out._

" _Jasper did that?" She stood up, shock clearly written all over her face. "I'm sorry he did that to you. Did he do, did he touch you?"_

 _I shook my head. "No, nothing like that at all."_

 _Alice went silent after that, she became almost_ _like_ _a robot. I stayed quiet too, I think I may have said too much and I hoped she wouldn't tell Anthony._

" _I'm all done. I've set out your dress and shoes in the closet, you're going to look beautiful. I'm sorry I won't be here to see you, but I need to go pick my girls up," she said._

" _Thank you, Alice," I said._

 _She packed up all her things in a matter of minutes. I've never seen anyone move that fast in my life. She left after that, she didn't say goodbye, she didn't look back._


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN**_

 _I s_ _t_ _ood in front of the full length mirror staring at myself. The dress Alice had hung up for me was nothing short of beautiful._

 _It was a long, floor length gown made entirely of black lace._

 _It had a low v-neck, just enough to reveal the right amount of cleavage. The back was completely bare. The shoes matched the dress perfectly. Black leather covered in lace._

" _Look at you," Anthony said, coming in standing behind me. His eyes were roaming up and down my body and he wasn't ashamed of it either._

" _It's a nice dress," I said._

" _The dress would be nothing more than a heap of fabric without the right person to showcase it," he said._

 _I turned away from the mirror to face Anthony. He was dressed in a three piece charcoal suit, he even had the handkerchief tucked neatly into the breast pocket._

 _Anthony was a good looking man, and unfortunately I'm only human, kidnapper or not I couldn't deny that._

 _He appeared to be in a much better mood now, than he was earlier this morning. But Anthony's moods were like rogue waves, you never knew when they were going to hit._

" _Why am I dressed up like this?" I asked. Anthony and his brother were up to something. Why would they have gone to all the effort of bringing Alice here, or having her know about me, putting her at risk? Why go to the effort of having me made over if I was only going to end up dead?_

" _Because, my little lamb, I have big plans for you." He smiled. There was nothing warm or comforting to me about his smile. It was almost as if he_ _was_ _smiling to himself, like there was a personal joke I wasn't allowed in on._

" _But first, you need this," he said, holding what looked like an eye mask made of the same lace as the dress with two satin ribbons._

" _We can't have anyone_ _recognizing_ _you,_ _now can we?_ " _He stood behind me and put the_ _mask_ _over my eyes,_ _tying_ _it in a perfect bow, he didn't even ruin my hair as he did it._

" _No, we wouldn't want that," I said._

 _Anthony wrapped one hand around my waist and pulled our bodies closer together. His mouth was close to my ear, I could feel his warm breath on me._

" _No one is going to give a fuck who you are. The only thing they will care about, is what's here," he whispered in my ear as his hand_ _reached down the front of the dress to cup my breast._

" _Anthony." I wanted to cry. He wouldn't, he couldn't._

" _Shh," he said. "Once I'm done with you, you won't won't even recognize the whore staring back at you in the mirror."_

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _My stomach was in knots. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to make my feet work, to get from the bedroom through_ _the_ _apartment and out the front door._

 _I was very shocked when Anthony led me_ _towards the elevator. We went out the front door of the building like normal people, the door man even greeted us. Anthony didn't seem to be fazed about me being out in the public eye at all, but I guess I did look different, I didn't look like me at all and with the mask covering my face, I didn't even recognize myself._

 _Outside, Garrett waited for us by a slick looking car, with the backdoor open._

 _James climbed in first, then me, and Anthony after._ _Then_ _Garrett jogged around to the drivers side._

" _Let me make some things very clear to you, little lamb. One, don't try anything stupid, Garrett and James will be watching your every move and so will I._

 _Two, do exactly as you're told. If I say jump, you better jump._

 _And three, smile," he said, all the while running his fingers up and down my arm._

" _Do I make myself clear, little lamb?" I nodded, unable to find the will to speak. "Answer me," Anthony demanded._

" _Yes," I finally answered._

" _Good girl." He took my hand in his and brought it up to his mouth, kissing the back of my knuckles._

 _The small gesture didn't sit right with me. It was an intimate act, something a gentleman or a lover would do, and Anthony wasn't either._

 _The car came to a stop in some dark and deserted alleyway. Garrett had turned off the street, we appeared to be behind a bar or a club of some sort._

 _Anthony and James both opened their doors at the same time and climbed out. Anthony held his hand out to me, and the look on his face left no room for arguments._

 _I let Anthony help me out of the car and lead me into wherever the hell we were. We went through a back door and down a tight corridor that lead to an old cage elevator. How could Anthony trust this thing, I thought? It looked to be unstable and the steel was rusted. It looked as if it would plummet with us at any second. I released the breath I was holding when we made it to the bottom safely. We went down another hallway to the very end w_ _h_ _ere a large wooden door was illuminated by a_ _single_ _small spotlight._

 _James walked around me taking out an unusual looking key from his pocket and opened the door._

 _Stepping inside, it_ _was_ _as if we had been suddenly transported somewhere else. It was easy to forget that we were somewhere underground right now._

 _There were plush carpets that covered the floors. The walls were a deep, dark rich color. A mahogany bar stretched across one side. Tables, chairs and plush sofas were all scattered around the large room all occupied by men in suits, with women walking around them or sitting_ _near_ _by, some in_ _lingerie_ _, some in barely there dresses._

 _The smell of cigar smoke and alcohol filled the air. This was like a scene from a movie. Things like this just weren't real._

 _"What is this place?" I asked, afraid of his answer._

 _"This, little lamb, is where men in high places come to fuck pretty girls and mock the rest of the fuckers in the world," he said, close to my ear, sending a shiver down my spin. "Welcome to the underworld, little lamb, you're going to love it here."_

 _Anthony confirmed my biggest fear, he promised he would do it, he said he would make me a whore and now here I was right in the middle of it. This was a brothel, no matter what he tried to call it, this is what it really was._

" _Anthony, please," I begged, turning around right into his arms. He held me close to him staring into my eyes._

" _Shh, didn't I tell you to obey me. I don't want to have to hurt you anymore, little lamb. Don't make me. Don't make me angry," he said._

 _Anthony passed me over to James. He walked in front of us. With James on my right with his hand on the small of my bare back and Garrett on my left, I felt as if all eyes were on us as we followed behind Anthony._

 _Anthony stopped at a table w_ _h_ _ere a group of men were seated. The table was_ _covered_ _with half filled glasses and two very expensive looking bottles of cognac. There were four men and three women, one appeared to be younger than I was. She looked very uncomfortable and out of place, not like the other two women. She was very tense and rigid as the man she was seated next to felt her up. He didn't seem fazed by her discomfort._

" _Gentleman," Anthony said._

" _Mr. Cullen," one man smiled up at him, while another stood up and pulled out a chair for Anthony. He sat down and turned back towards me. Taking my hand in his, he pulled me towards him and sat me on his lap._

 _The four men around the table all seemed to be much older than Anthony, although I had no idea how old Anthony or Edward were. But the older men were looking at Anthony with some sort of unspoken respect._

" _Mr. Cullen," a man sitting next to us spoke. "Who is this lovely creature you have?" He asked, taking my hand from the table and placing a kiss_ _upon it_ _. I was quick to snatch my hand away and wipe it on the back of my dress. This caused the other men to chuckle and Anthony's hand on my thigh to tighten to the point I thought for sure he would end up ripping my dress._

" _This right here, is my little play toy, Carlo," Anthony said, pushing my hair off of my shoulder. He placed his lips on my neck and let his tongue run over a certain spot. I shivered from the contact, unable to help my reaction and I hated myself for it._

 _Little play toy. I prayed to God that I could somehow get out of this, that Anthony wouldn't go through with it. But I knew I was only living on false hope._

 _I tried to stay calm and even out my breathing. I didn't want a repeat of what had happened at the estate, I don't think Anthony would appreciate the show and there would no doubt be hell to pay._

" _Only for you?" Another man asked, pouting. He was seated opposite us. The look of this man made my skin crawl. He was probably the oldest at the table. He had dark hair that appeared to be colored, he had gelled it back. He wore a tuxedo, but the way he was sitting made his gun holster visible inside his jacket._

 _There was just something about this man that had alarm bells ringing in my head. There was something in his eyes, the way he looked at me, almost as if he knew who I really was._

" _Aro, what a surprise to see you here," Anthony said. "Should you not be working?"_

" _We all need to take a little break every now and again, Anthony, to clear out heads," the man, Aro said._

" _See that you do not linger around too long, we wouldn't want you to fall behind."_

 _Aro nodded and raised his glass in a toast, but he could not hide his displeasure towards Anthony._

 _Anthony motioned for the young woman sitting on another man's lap to come over to him. She stood up instantly with a big smile plastered on her face and leaned over in front of Anthony putting her breasts on display right in his face._

" _How may I help you, sir?" She asked. Anthony leaned in and whispered something low enough for only the two of them to hear. After he had finished, she stood up straight, nodded her head and left, only to return moments later with a tray in hand, putting two drinks in front of us._

 _Anthony held a shot glass up to me containing a pink and purple liquid._

" _What's this?" I asked softly._

" _Drink it, you'll like it," he said, sounding impatient._

" _Please, Anthony. I promise I won't do anything," I begged._

 _He put the shot glass down and put his hand on the back of my neck, leaning in towards me, his face now covered by my hair. His fingers on my neck_ _dug_ _into my skin, making it almost impossible not to cry out in pain._

" _Stop fucking testing me. Drink the damn thing or else," he warned. His words were harsh, but crystal clear._

 _I closed my eyes, taking myself to another place, thinking of anything and everything other than the man I was with and the place I was in. I felt Anthony bring the glass to my lips._

" _Open your eyes, little lamb,"_ _he_ _said softly._

 _I opened my eyes, his cold ones staring back at me. I took the glass from his hand and downed it back. It was sweet, sickening almost, with_ _a_ _burn._

" _Good?" He asked. I shook my head and he chuckled, snapping his fingers at I don't know who, but in the next second someone appeared with another shot._

 _I don't know what was in these shots, but soon I felt as if I was weightless, floating on a cloud. It didn't impair my judgement, I was still very much aware of where I was. I could hear the conversation around me clearly, I could feel Anthony's hand on me perfectly, but my body felt light._

" _What was in that drink?" I asked him._

 _He smiled, pinching the tip of his nose than leaning in and placing a lingering kiss on the corner of my mouth._

" _Come on, it's time," he said, pushing me up to my feet. I was surprised I_ _could_ _stand, let alone walk._

 _It's time, he said. That had been his plan, the reason for the shots. He wanted me liquored up before he...He would...I couldn't finish the words, I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of what was to come._


	16. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN**_

 _The underground, a safe house so to speak. This where our men, our people come to relax, to get away from the outside world or to do their business, deals would sometimes go down here and a lot of money was traded._

 _Of course, only the select knew about this place. To get into the underground, one had to be a made guy, a high ranker,_ _for_ _men who have proven their loyalty._

 _No one knew of the existence of the underground, not the NYPD, not the FBI, not even our enemies. This was our safe haven, our hideaway, a place where business could be conducted without having to look over our shoulders._

 _My father had his own room here, as did my brother and so did I. It was in this room that I have been all day. After visiting my father this morning, his words still weighing heavily on my mind._

" _You cannot demand respect if you do not follow tradition and fulfill your duties as a Don."_

 _My new duties, my responsibilities required me to tie myself down, to have a wife, a family._

 _It was a ridiculous notion given the century that we live in, but tradition was tradition and family honor was family honor._

 _We could not appear weak. Others had already tried to invade, to take us when news broke of my father's incarceration. But_ _their_ _plans quickly failed when we retaliated just as strong as ever, but that did not mean they would not continue to try._

 _As I_ _now lay_ _in bed, staring up at the ceiling, I thought of my father's wishes. They were wishes_ _that_ _I could not and would not go against. My father even assured me he had the perfect wife waiting for me. Heidi was the daughter of a respectable family friend back in Italy. She would make the perfect wife, he assured me. She was a twenty-two year old who had been raised into this life. She would know her role well, she would know when to keep her mouth shut, she would know not to ask questions. She did not even have to love me or I her. All that was needed was for her to carry my last name and maybe one day, pop out a kid._

 _That was a role and a responsibility I did not want, but I agreed to, and by the end of the week, my soon to be wife_ _will_ _arrive._

 _Sighing deeply, I stood up and_ _got_ _out of bed. Taking my tie off and rolling up my sleeves. I needed to find my brother. I knew he would be here tonight, we had business we needed to take care of._

 _I headed down the hall and into our father's office. It would be easier to track Anthony down on camera than to have to search for him everywhere._

 _Every area of the underground was monitored, including the bathrooms. We could never take any chances._

 _I found Anthony easily in one of the private areas, but what I saw made my blood boil. He was not alone, three others were with him and so was she._

 _He had brought the little bambolina with him here._

 _They_ _were all seated around where_ _she stood in the middle of them. I could not see her face, she was not facing the camera. I turned the volume on, wondering what the hell Anthony was playing at now._

" _Do not make me repeat myself," Anthony said._

 _Isabella's head slumped down. Her hands came up, slowly peeling her dress off of her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. That was when I saw red and before I knew it, I had stormed out of the office and towards them, banging the door down. All four of them jumped up when I came into the room, but she stayed frozen in her spot, her hands covering her chest._

" _Out, now," I said._

" _You're a party pooper," Anthony said._

" _GET THE FUCK OUT, NOW," I yelled, watching as the other three_ _men_ _jumped to their feet and hurried out of the room._

" _You as well," I said to my brother._

" _Fuck no," he said._

" _Che diavolo stavi facendo con lei?"_

" _Lei e una puttana," he spat back at me._

" _Sei un idiota. Hai dato il suo nulla?"_

" _I gave her something to loosen her up a bit," Anthony admitted._

" _Cosa le hai dato?" I asked. This was a new low, even for Anthony._

" _I gave her a few shots. Don't worry, I didn't poison her."_

" _Put your clothes back on, fiorellina" I said._

 _She hesitantly bent down to retrieve the dress pooled around her feet, but Anthony grabbed her arms._

" _Don't you dare," he told her._

" _Stop this now," I warned._

 _Anthony was never one to listen, even our father had difficulty with him at times. He turned Isabella around in his arms. She was facing me. Her eyes were glassy and her cheeks bright red, the blush spread all the way down her neck_ _to her exposed breasts. A mixture of her innocence and alcohol combined, making her look absolutely stunning._

 _Anthony's thumb danced across her navel. She shivered in response from his touch and that made me angry, that he was the one causing that reaction out of her._

" _Look at that, brother. My, my, my, have you ever seen anything so sinful?" Anthony said, sweeping her hair from one shoulder to another. He kissed a trail down her neck. She closed her eyes, as a single tear slid down her rosy cheek._

 _I_ _stalked_ _over to them. Standing in front of them, I wiped her tear away. She opened her eyes, meeting mine, they shone with a mixture of fear and something else, something more._

" _How long has it been brother since_ _we have_ _had any fun together?" Anthony asked._

" _Too long," I said, hoarsely._

 _My brother reached over and grabbed my hand, lifting it up and placing it on Isabella's breast. Her skin was soft in my rough hand. The smart thing would have been to pull away, to remove_ _my hand_ _from her, to take her away and let her be, but right now, I wasn't a very smart man and Anthony was right, the little dolcezza was absolutely sinful and I wanted to corrupt her in every way possible._

 _It was a need, a surge, something that snapped in me. I let it go, I let loose. Moulding her breast with my hand and taking her nipple in between my fingers, rolling it around. I watched her bit_ _e_ _her lip. I watched the many emotions dance across her face. Anthony had intoxicated her for this very reason._

 _She stared back at me. She was enjoying what was happening, yet trying her hardest not to. She had no strength to fight and if she did, I wondered if she would?_

 _I grabbed a hold of her face and brought my lips to hers, hovering there, guarding her, waiting for any sign that she would reject me. She put her hand on my chest, her fingers fisting the material and pulling it towards her. That's all I needed. I crashed my lips to hers, licking, biting at hers, begging her to open her mouth and to let me in._

 _I felt Anthony pulling her away from me. I looked up at him as he walked back with her, her fingers never letting go of my shirt._

 _His legs bumped the desk. With one hand, he pushed the contents off and lifted Isabella up and placed her on the desk._

 _Maybe realization had finally hit her of what was happening or maybe the effect of the alcohol was wearing off. Her breath hitched when her butt came in contact with the cold surface of the desk. She went to shut her legs, but Anthony stood in front of her, pushing her knees apart and standing in between them. I walked around the desk and stood behind her. Grabbing her hair in one hand, I rolled it around until it was threaded perfectly through my fingers._

" _Anthony," she whispered in a harsh breath._

 _My brother was running the back of his fingers up the inside of her thighs, until he stopped right there. He looked up at me and winked, slipping his fingers inside her panties. Her whole body tensed and she tried squirming away._

" _Calm down, little lamb, I promise you'll love this," my brother said._

" _Please don't." She cried._

" _Shh."_

 _Anthony rubbed her, looking from me to her as he did. He took his finger out and brought it to his lips, sucking on it and moaning loudly._

" _You taste fucking sweet," he said, kissing her on the cheek._

 _I couldn't take this anymore. Her whole_ _body_ _became_ _stiff_ _and she started to shake almost violently, breathing very hard._

" _Non piu," I said, pushing Anthony away from her._

" _She's a fucking tease," he said. "She needs to fix what she started."_

" _Get out now. Go and get her some water," I said. "And give me your jacket."_

" _Questa è una stronzata," he yelled, throwing his jacket at me. "She's a fucking traitor, she needs to pay and you're treating her like this."_

" _GO!"_

 _I picked up Anthony's jacket and put it over her shoulders. "Put your head between your knees and take deep breaths," I said._

 _She shook her head, trying to push me away. I grabbed her hands firmly in one hand and pushed the back of her head down to her knees with the other._

" _You need to calm down or you are going to pass out," I said._

" _I...ca...can...t...bre...a...th…" She stuttered._

 _I drew out my own deep breath and kneeled next to her, releasing her hands. I cupped her face and made her look up at me._

" _Do what I'm doing. Breath in, breath out, come_ _on_ _," I said, as she imitated my movements. "There you go, good girl. Better?" I asked, watching her breathing even out and return to normal._

 _She shook her head. "Please let me go," she begged._

" _You know I can't do that, fiorellina," I said. "It's not that easy."_

" _I won't say anything. I'll lie and say someone else took me, please," she cried, breaking my heart with each tear that fell from her eyes. But this was what is was and she was stuck here. Her only escape would be death and I won't allow her to die, no matter what. I'll admit, there is something inside of me that's drawn to her, something pulling me closer to her, begging me to protect her, to take care of her. But I know I can't have her._

" _Let's get you some clothes, fiorellina."_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN.**_

 _I had taken Isabella back to my room and gave her a mild sleeping pill. I took my shirt off and dressed her in it, somehow I didn't think she would react too well if she woke up naked, next to me._

 _It was now well past nine in the morning. I had never been a person to sleep in, so this was a first for me._

 _I knew she was awake, I didn't need to face her to know that._

 _She was laying on her side facing in my direction. Both her hands were tucked under under the pillow_ _where her head lay_ _. I felt her eyes on me and knew she was watching my every move._

 _I turned on my side to face her. She quickly closed her eyes, pretending to still be asleep, it could have worked for her had she been able to control her labored breathing. I hoped she was not about to have another attack again._

" _I know you're awake, dolcezza." I chuckled. "Open your eyes."_

 _Her eyes fluttered open gently. She studied my face with a cautious expression._

" _Are you alright? Does your head hurt?" I asked._

" _No, I feel fine," she assured me._

 _She sat up, pulling the covers along with her, wrapping them securely around herself until she realized she was clothed. Her brow_ _s_ _knitted together in confusion as she stared down at herself._

" _I figured you might not appreciate waking up in bed next to me, naked," I said._

" _You dressed me?" She asked, pulling the covers back to take a look._

" _I did."_

" _Did you…" She swallowed nervously. "Did you sleep next to me?"_

" _I did."_

" _Oh."_

 _I watched her as she debated with herself. Biting on her lower lip, she threw the covers off of herself and climbed out of bed. She tried pulling my shirt down as far as it would go._

 _I couldn't help but groan at the sight in front of me. She was something else, something unique. The new hair color suited her, it made her bright eyes stand out that much more. She was beautiful, and even with the black circles under her eyes from the smudged make-up, she still took my breath away._

" _Can I...Is there a bat_ _hroom I co_ _uld use, please?" She asked._

" _Over there," I said, pointing her to the bathroom door._

 _She was quick to run out of my sight. She locked the bathroom door, it didn't worry me, she had nowhere to go, there were no windows and no other door._

 _I threw my head back on the pillow, rubbing my fingers roughly over my eyes. What am I doing? What am I thinking?_

 _I felt bad for her. She was the only innocent party in all of this mess, and if Anthony had let me handle things the right way, Charles Swan would be buried in concrete right now and Isabella would have never needed to be involved in any of this._

 _She could have gone on with her life. She could have been normal. She would have been another nobody walking aimlessly through her life._

 _When we were younger, my mother always told us that everything happens for a reason. Every person that comes into our lives comes in with a purpose, nothing is by chance._

 _My mother believed in fate, but my mother is also at times a hopeless romantic and somewhat stupid._

 _Fate, the notion itself made me want to laugh out as loud as I could. If that were true, what was Isabella's purpose here? Why would fate_ _have_ _deal_ _t_ _her such a cruel hand?_

 _I came out of my thoughts when I heard the bathroom door unlock. The little bambolina came out, her face washed and free from all that caked on make-up. She stood there nervously chewing on the inside of her cheek._

" _Come here," I said._

 _She took hesitant steps back towards the bed, holding onto the front of that shirt for dear life. Although I couldn't blame her fear. I couldn't begin to understand what must be going through her head, and I think Anthony_ _had fucked_ _her up even more last night._

 _When she was close enough for me to reach, I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me. She fell on top of me and I held her around her waist. She felt good laying on top of me. She felt right here in my arms._

 _She looked down at me with her wide eyes. With her so close now and her make-up removed, I could see the faint bruise on her face from where Anthony_ _had hurt her._

" _I'm sorry," I said, gently tracing the tips of my fingers over her cheek._

" _It's not your fault," she said._

 _Wasn't it? Didn't I have the power to stop Anthony if I wanted to?_

 _Yes, I did. But if I took that course of action, what would I do with her? I couldn't very well keep her, not when she was still the number one missing person in the state._

 _The search for her still hasn't died down, not even after two months. Though my family is no longer of interest to the FBI where_ _she_ _is concerned, that does very little for me._

 _Charles knows that Anthony and I have her, and to be honest, I am surprised he has not voiced it yet. I am surprised he has not made any commotion and sent them after us,_

 _but he knew that if he did she would be as good as dead. If Charles alerted anyone, I would not have a choice in the matter but to kill her._

 _Did Charles think his silence was the best option for his daughter right now? Would he rather let her be passed around from man to man and have god knows what done to her than be dead?_

 _I guess he really was a selfish man, because if the roles were reversed and I were in his shoes, I would wish my daughter dead than to suffer that fate._

" _Can you please let go of me," she said, wriggling about in my arms._

" _No, I like you here," I said._

 _"Please," she begged. Her thigh was pressed against me and I knew she felt my hard on, he_ _r_ _face flushed._

 _"I will, on one condition."_

 _"Condition?"_

 _"Agree first, fiorellina," I said._

 _"I...what condition?"_

 _"Say yes," I insisted._

 _"Yes to what?" She asked, confused._

 _"Say it."_

 _"I...Uh...Yes," she finally said._

 _"Kiss me."_

 _She shocked the hell out of me when she crushed her lips to mine, hard._

 _I gripped the back of her neck and held her close to me, letting my tongue dance across her bottom lip begging her to open up, and she didn't disappoint. Her need matched my own, dare I say, even more._

 _The way her body felt in my arms, and the small moans she was making into my mouth, had me lose control._

 _This shouldn't happen, yet I couldn't stop it and she did nothing to help me either._

 _Her little tongue ran across my bottom lip and that's all it took to send me over the edge. Fuck me, I was acting like a sexually frustrated teen. But right now, I had become a starved man. I had a craving, a addiction and only she could satisfy me._

 _I flipped us over so I was now hovering above her. She looked up at me with hooded eyes, no sign of fear or regret present._

 _"Tell me to stop," I said, grabbing her leg and hitching it around my waist._

 _"No," she said with determination._

 _"Why?"_

 _"Please, Edward," she begged._

 _"Why aren't you afraid of me?" I asked, kissing a trail around her neck and shoulder blade._

 _"I don't know," she admitted._

 _I sighed and lifted myself up off of her._

 _No matter my needs, It did not matter that I wanted her this way. I couldn't do this, not to her, not like this._

 _"Edward?" She said, sitting up._

 _"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you. Please forgive me."_

 _She sat there watching my every move, as I took out another shirt and dressed myself. I fixed my tie and slipped my shoes on before having the courage to turn back around and face her._

 _Her face still flushed red, and her eyes held onto those tears, refusing to let them free. If she did cry, I would crumble, I know that._

 _But this was wrong. She should not be this willing, this accepting. She should be afraid of me, yet she's not and it only makes me more confused. Her fear, I can understand, but this willingness, it's bewildering. I want her, I do, but I can't and as much as I know what will come, it is what it is and I will leave her in the hands_ _of_ _my brother._

" _Goodbye, fiorellina," I said._

" _Where are you going?" She asked._

" _Goodbye."_

" _Wait," she shouted as my hand reached for the door knob. "Am I ever going to see you again?" She asked, now standing in front of me. Face to face, so close to touch._

" _No, you won't," I told her, avoiding looking her in the eyes, I would not leave otherwise._

" _Oh…"_

 _I turned the knob. She put her hand on top of mine. My hand gripped the knob painfully tight, but I didn't move._

" _What's going to happen to me now?"_

 _I ignored her question and left her there in the room, slamming the door shut behind me. What would happen to her?_

 _I knew what was going to happen to her. I knew what my brother was planning for her. I doubt she would survive, she was too fragile, too innocent for such a world._

 _Maybe it was all for the best, death would be better for her than here._

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _A week flew by. A week since I had left...Her in my room in the underground. A week since I don't know a thing about her fate. Anthony won't tell me and I don't...I don't think I can handle knowing. This was for the best. Whatever it was I was feeling towards her, it was nothing but a mild infatuation, a small addiction, or at least that's what I am trying to tell myself._

" _I don't like you," Sofia said._

 _Heidi's arrival had been more than I expected, in fact, she was not what I had expected at all. She was obnoxious and in the few hours that she has been here,_ _she had ma_ _naged to get on my every last nerve._

 _I should and probably will end up killing my father for this, Heidi was supposed to be a shy and quiet girl who did not speak a word of English._

 _She knew English very well, in fact, she has already laid out her demands._

 _Our wedding is to be in a month. She want's a big and lavish production and she want_ _s_ _her family and her friends flown in from Italy and housed here. As my wife, her father told her she can expect gifts and the very best of everything. She has already stated her disappointment_ _about_ _the fact that I have not yet gotten her an engagement ring._

" _Sofia," my mother said, with a tight smile. Rosalie did not bot_ _her discipling he_ _r daughter,_ _in_ _fact, I think she would encourage her more. My brother, he was having the time of his life laughing quietly at us all from the corner of the room._

" _Uncle Edward, she's not even pretty," Sofia continued on._

" _Sofia, that's enough," Emmett said._

" _She's only telling the truth," Rosalie mumbled._

" _You are a little brat," Heidi spoke in a thick accent._

" _Don't you dare speak to my daughter in that tone," Rosalie said, glaring a hole through Heidi._

" _Do not let her speak to me like that," Heidi fired back._

 _Sofia stuck out her tongue at the infuriating woman beside me, who despite the other five people in the room, raised her hand up to my niece. I caught her wrist and stood up, bending down right into her face._

" _You ever think about touching her, and it will be the last thing you ever do," I said._

" _She needs to learn respect," Heidi said._

" _You are the only one here who needs to learn respect."_

 _I could not take this. How the hell was I supposed to take that woman as a wife, how was I supposed to live with her, when in the five hours that I have known her I could not stand the sight of her._

 _It was the sound of Emmett's phone that brought me back into reality. I let go of Heidi's arm and went and picked up Sofia._

" _I don't like her," she whispered into my ear._

" _Neither do I," I whispered back._

" _Please don't marry her," she said, making that little puppy dog face at me._

" _I'm not going to, don't worry." I kissed her cheek and put her back on her feet._

" _Yes...Yes...No...Yes...No...No...Yes," Emmett said, ending his call._

" _What is it now," Anthony whinnied._

" _We need to talk, now," Emmett said._

" _Is everything alright?" My mother asked._

" _Yes, it is. Emmett and I have some business," I said._

 _Emmett, Anthony and I, left the women in the room. If Rosalie did not end up killing Heidi by the end of the night, then I'm sure our mother would._

" _What's going on?" Anthony asked._

" _That was detective Black," Emmett said. "They have had a tip about the missing girl. A warrant has been issued for Anthony's arrest. They are on_ _their_ _way to your apartment now, man. Please tell me that girl isn't there?"_

" _Fuck," Anthony yelled._

" _Where is she?" I asked._

" _She's with Victoria." All the blood drained from my face as he spoke those words._


	18. Chapter 18

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **Mention of human trafficking and prostitution.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN**_

 _Edward left me breathless. He confused all my senses. With him, I wanted something that I had never wanted or felt the need to have before. I wanted to be touched, I wanted him to touch me. I closed my eyes, still remembering his fingers on me, it was as if my skin had been set on fire, a burning trail lingered where his fingers_ _had_ _touched. Edward was fire, he was heat and I wanted him to burn me, every last part of me. I wanted to be consumed by whatever this feeling was. I wanted to hold onto it and never let it go, because I loved everything about it. It made me feel alive, wanted and needed._

 _But he left. He left me there because for whatever reason he could not do it and I could not blame him, after all, I had to be crazy for feeling the way I was and he had to know that._

 _Maybe this was for the best, him_ _leaving for goo_ _d that is. I know when he had said goodbye, he had meant it. I know I may never see him again, and it hurts because in this whole messed up situation, he was the only one that made me feel almost safe._

" _Do you have to go?" I asked James._

" _Yeah, I do. Garrett will be with you though, he won't let anything happen to you," he said._

 _Garrett still scared me. He was a big guy who spoke very few words and he was intimidating._

 _James and_ _he_ _had apologized for the incident that night. They didn't have a choice, they were given their orders and they had to follow through._

 _I could understand that, but that didn't make what happened any easier to deal with. Although James and Garrett may have not physically raped me, the memory of that night will always haunt me._

 _James said, he will never forgive himself for putting his hands on me. I asked him who gave the orders, Edward or Anthony, but he never gave me an answer._

" _Garrett scares me, James," I admitted._

" _Don't be scared of him, Isabella. Garrett won't hurt you. He's a good guy."_

 _Garrett may be a good guy, but he will never be good enough to protect me from Anthony, neither would James._

" _What's going to happen to me now? Where are they going to take me? What are they going to do with me?" I asked._

 _James avoided my questions and that only made the alarm bells in my head ring louder._

 _Whatever Anthony had planned to do with me, it wasn't good. But I guess I already knew that, I already knew what his plans were. Maybe I was just trying to delude myself and think that somehow Anthony would have changed his mind._

" _Can I ask you something?"_

" _Sure." He smiled._

" _When you told me about your sister, that you were looking for her," I said, guarding his reaction._

" _Irina. What about her?" He frowned._

" _You said that was why you got involved with the mafia, because you think they trafficked her," I said, cringing. The simple thought alone made me sick to my stomach._

' _No, we are not talking about this," he said firmly._

" _Why not?"_

" _Because the last time we did, you had a panic attack and I almost had my head blown off."_

 _Could he really blame me though? How the hell could I not panic when he told me about his sister, when I know that I may face the same fate, and no one would ever find me again._

 _I admire James's courage and his strength. He became involved in a brutal world all in the hope that he may find his sister. But he's been doing it for ten years, and still nothing, and that's assuming that Irina is still alive. James could be searching for ghosts._

" _Then please tell me, what's going to happen to me," I said._

 _James sighed and kneeled down in front of me. He took my hands in his and held onto them tightly._

" _Anthony wants to make you disappear," he said._

" _Why has it taken him so long to kill me?"_

" _He doesn't want to kill you, Isabella, he did at first. He asked me to do it, but then he changed his mind," James said, rubbing small circles with his thumbs over my wrists._

" _You were going to kill me?"_

" _Yeah, I guess I was." He offered an apologetic smile. "He may keep you here, or, and I hope he won't do it, he may give you to Victoria."_

" _Who's Victoria?" I asked._

" _She's a madam. There's no nice way of putting this, but she operates the brothel. I've never met her myself, but I hear she's nice," he said._

 _I let out a shaky breath. She's nice. Who cares if Victoria is nice. Was that his way of trying to make me feel better? Like that was going to take away from the fact that I would end up in a brothel. I would become nothing but a used up whore, used by countless men, exactly like Anthony wants._

" _Calm down," I heard James say. I felt a pressure on the back of my neck, something pushing me forward._

' _Come on, deep breaths, Isabella. Damn it, don't do this."_

 _What the hell was he talking about? I wanted to ask him what his problem was, but I couldn't find my voice, I couldn't move._

 _I felt my whole body trembling. My hands were shaking as I tried to reach out and grab a hold of James's shirt, but it proved to be a useless task._

" _Fuck," he cursed. "Please, Isabella, don't do this to me."_

 _I tried, I tried with everything in me to calm down, to stop myself. But I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking of what was to come and what would become of me._

 _There was a darkness waiting for me, something that looked peaceful, promising and inviting and I let it take over me._

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _When I opened my eyes, I was in the same room, in the same clothes only someone had tucked me in bed. James._

 _I sat up, rubbing my eyes and looked around the room, hoping to see James, but instead, I found Anthony sitting on a sofa facing the bed with his legs crossed and an iPad in hand. He put down the device when he heard my movements._

" _Sleeping beauty awakes, and I didn't even have to kiss her," he said._

 _Sleeping beauty was awoken by her prince, Anthony was a monster and an evil bastard. I doubted he had a good bone in his body._

" _There_ _is_ _food over there," he said, pointing to the desk on the opposite end of the room. "And a change of clothes. I want you showered, dressed and fed in thirty minutes, little lamb," he said, getting up from his seat. He came over to me and kissed the top of my head before leaving the room and locking the door._

 _I started at the door for a moment, realization coming to me. I guess I did freak out on James once more. Damn it, I hope he didn't get in trouble because of me. I hope Anthony didn't do anything to him._

 _I couldn't make_ _Anthony angry_ _, because I knew what would happen if I did and I didn't need another bruise to cover me, not when the other ones were healing so well._

 _I sighed, getting out of the bed._ _I_ _grabbed the bag of clothes and towel from the table_ _and went_ _into the bathroom. I took a shower in record time and changed into the clothes Anthony had brought me, refusing to look at myself in the mirror once I had put them on._

 _How could he consider this clothing? A lace thong, no bra and a dress that could pass more_ _as_ _a band aid_ _then_ _clothing. The pair of heels did nothing either, I felt as if my ankles would snap off at any minute with them on._

" _Calm down Bella, everything is going to be ok_ _ay_ _," I spoke to myself out loud, realizing I was only lying to myself. I slammed my palms against the granite sink. "Damn it." I wanted to scream, to shout out loud, but I had to keep it in. I couldn't lose it, not now, not anymore and especially not in front of Anthony._

 _Just as I had finished eating, Anthony came back into the room._

" _Stand up," he ordered. I did as he said. I stood up,_ _pulling_ _on the hem of the dress, wishing that somehow it had become longer while I had been sitting down._

 _Anthony's eyes gazed over me from head to toe, taking_ _in_ _every inch of me. I felt uncomfortable under his gaze, and I avoided looking at him at all cost._

" _You look like a whore," he said._

 _I closed my eyes, fighting back my tears and_ _fighting_ _the urge to pick up the empty plate_ _off_ _of the table and throw it at his head._

 _When I opened my eyes, I wasn't prepared to see him standing in front of me. I stumbled back, but he caught me around the waist, holding me to him._

 _He brushed the hair off of my face. An unreadable expression masked his face, he looked as if he was having an inner battle with himself, and then he let go of me and took his jacket off, putting it over my shoulders._

" _It's cold outside. We can't have you getting sick," he said. He took my hand and walked with me out of the room, taking me out of the underworld as he had called it and back out into the real world._

 _Outside, Garrett waited for us by a car_ _holding the back door open._ _Anthony pushed me into the car and climbed in after me. He leaned over me and put my seatbelt on, I think he just enjoyed my discomfort from his touch._

" _Where are we going?" I asked._

" _Somewhere," he said, taking my hand in his and threading his fingers through mine. "No more questions. Be quiet," he ordered._

 _I sat back in my seat quietly, looking out the window. We were driving over the Brooklyn Bridge now. I stared out the window watching the city go by. I wondered if I would ever get to walk those streets again? If I would ever be able to go to my favorite cafe again? If I would ever be able to stand outside by myself?_

 _I hadn't realized I was crying until I felt Anthony's thumb wiping away my tears._

" _What's wrong?" He asked, softly. This gentle tone of his didn't suit him._

" _Nothing," I said, what was it to him anyways? He didn't care, he was taking me to god knows where now._

 _He sighed, but didn't say anything more, he even let go of my hand. We had been driving for over an hour now, I was sure of it, I didn't need a clock to tell me that. I was beginning to feel suffocated in this car with him. Although he had let go of my hand, he was still close to me, his thigh was stuck to mine. I needed to get out of this car and put some distance between us before I lost it again._

 _Finally, the car came to a stop outside_ _of_ _a house that looked like it was about ready to fall apart, in fact the whole street looked off. Where the hell were we?_

 _The car we had driven here in, stood out like an eyesore in this neighborhood._

 _Anthony put his hand on my back and pushed me towards the house. Garrett walked besi_ _de me on_ _my other side, he had grabbed onto my upper arm, probably a precaution to make sure I didn't run._

 _As we approached the house, the door opened. Two men in black_ _suits_ _greeted Anthony and Garrett as their eyes roamed over me. Their stares were enough to make me want to throw up._

" _Where's Victoria?" Anthony asked._

" _She'll be down in a minute," one of the_ _suits_ _said._

 _We stood in what looked like a living room. The place was not what I expected it to be from the outside. Inside it looked more like a luxury house that didn't belong anywhere in this neighborhood. In this room, there were three other women_ _dressed_ _similar to me._

 _They eyed me curiously. Maybe they recognized me, but somehow I doubted that._

 _From behind us, two people appeared. One was another woman, who looked disgusted with herself and the other was man, who was zipping his pants up. He grabbed the girl around the waist and kissed her hard._

" _Thanks, sweetheart," he told her, in a thick Italian accent. "Sir," he said, acknowledging Anthony. Anthony only nodded, but didn't exchange any words with the man._

 _This was really happening, he was really going to keep true to his promise. I grabbed his hand. He looked down at me with curiosity._

" _Please don't do this. Please don't leave me here," I begged._

" _Don't be so fucking dramatic, little lamb. You're going to love it here." He smiled._

" _Please, anything else but this, please," I cried, refusing to let go of his hand. I could feel myself losing it again. I couldn't breath, the walls were closing in on me._

" _Fucking_ _hell," I heard him curse, before his hand collided with my cheek. "This little panic act you have going, isn't going to work here," he spat._

" _What's going on?" Came a female voice._

" _I've brought you a new product," Anthony said._

" _She looks like she's about to pass out. What's going on?"_

" _She can be a little dramatic at times," Anthony said, pulling on my arm painfully. "He stays with her at all times."_

 _With that, he pushed_ _me_ _away. I fell on the ground at his feet, he stepped over me and left. He left me here, here in hell. He gave me to Victoria, like James had said. This was it, this would be the end, my end. For the second time that day, I closed my eyes and slipped away._


	19. Chapter 19

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN**_

 _Victoria was a beautiful woman. She had long black_ _hair_ _and a set of striking blue eyes. She had killer long legs and a figure to die for. Victoria was also a nice person._

 _On my first night here, she had put me in her room. She did everything that she could to get me to calm down, to make me feel comfortable. I felt bad for her efforts, because there couldn't be anything she could have done to get me to relax in this place._

 _I won't lie, last night after Victoria left me, I contemplated locking myself in the bathroom, I contemplated ending it all and making the pain go away. I debated between the razor in my hand and filling up the bathtub. If it weren't for Garrett, maybe I would have gone through with it as well._

 _He came in after he thought I had been in the bathroom for too long, I didn't realize I had to stick to a strict time limit. He saw me with the razor in my hand and knocked it right out._

 _I hated Garrett, he wasn't James, he wouldn't talk to me, he wouldn't even offer me a small bit of comfort, not that I wanted him to touch me in any way._

 _He just sat there on the end of the bed and watched my every move for the remainder of the night. Of course he had to tell Victoria of my failed attempt. He thought I was asleep, but I heard him tell her everything._

" _That was a very stupid thing to do," Victoria said, she was sitting on the bed behind me brushing my hair._

" _It wasn't stupid," I mumbled. Being dead was better than being stuck here._

" _It was, and you know it."_

" _Did you ever stop to think that I had a reason for doing it?" I said, trying to move away from her, but she tugged on my hair keeping me in place._

" _I don't want to be here, but I don't have a choice, he won't give me another choice and it's not fair. Why do I have to pay for my father's mistake? It's not mine, it's his and it's not fair," I yelled and for the first time I let it out, for the first time, I accepted I was here because of my father, because of a deal he made and broke._

" _I'm sorry," she said. "I know it must be hard and I won't try and understand what you are going though. Being betrayed by your own blood, that is a hard pill to swallow. But killing yourself isn't an answer, believe me, I've tried that option and it's not as glorified as it sounds," she said, as she finished braiding my hair._

" _Why did you try and kill yourself?" I asked, turning around to face her._

" _I wasn't trying to die, or at least that's what I like to tell myself." She offered me a weak smile. "I was looking for a way to numb the pain, to feel anything other than…"_

" _I'm sorry," I said. It was hard to believe that someone like her was ever so broken, she looked so put together, so in control, but looks are deceiving no one really knows what lurks in someone's mind._

" _I've seen your face on the news. You're practically in every newspaper. I'm sorry that you are here because someone like you doesn't belong here, Isabella," she said, leaning in, she kissed the top of my head._

" _I'm glad that you feel that way. Now, do you think you could convince Anthony of that?" I chuckled._

" _Don't ever use his name here again," she said sternly, grabbing onto my jaw and making me look at her. "None of these girls know his real name, not even the men keeping guard. They don't know his name, his brother's name or his father's name and we need to keep it that way."_

" _Why?" I asked. Was this all some security thing? Or was it something more? What did they think, that because no one here knew their real name they couldn't be identified? They saw their faces and I'm sure they could give an accurate description if need be._

" _You ask too many questions, you know that. Let's get you downstairs, I've got clients arriving very soon and I need to make sure the rest of the girls are ready," she said._

' _Clients? You mean perverts," I spat. Men paying their way for sex with women who didn't want to be here. Victoria had kept me up here for the past couple of days and Garrett would bring me food. But I knew she wouldn't keep me up here forever, I knew eventually she would make me go out there._

 _She shrugged as she stood up and fixed her dress. "I guess that's your way of looking at it."_

" _Aren't you or An..him, afraid someone will recognize me? You said it yourself, my face it everywhere."_

" _They probably will, but they will not care because the men that come here are not outsiders. They are all connected and they are all loyal. If they dare to speak out, there will be dire consequences. Not one of them are going to risk their lives or their families for you." Her words, although harsh, were true. Everyone that I had come in contact with since being here all feared Anthony and Edward and their family in some way or another._

 _I was trapped here, Victoria knew it, Garrett and James knew it and Anthony...Anthony knew that there would never be any escape._

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _I hated this damn dress, no matter how much I tugged it down, it was still too damn short. Victoria apologized, but there was no other clothing here that would fit me. Right now, I would kill someone for a pair of track pants._

 _Sitting on_ _the_ _sofa in this living room, with Garrett close by me. I had never felt so cheap in my life. It was as if the air in this house was stale, it sme_ _lt of sex, and trash, and old_ _men. That was another problem, the men that came here, they weren't all old, they weren't what I expected. Yes, there_ _were th_ _e old gray men with bald spots. But the rest were younger, dressed to perfection, presented themselves well, not the sort of men I would have ever imagined_ _needing_ _to pay for sex._

 _I had been down here for a few hours now, and in that time seven men had come in here, picking someone and heading upstairs. I held my breath each time I heard Victoria come in with a different man,_ _pushing_ _myself_ _to_ _not go into a panicked fit._

 _I watched as the other women stood up in a straight line almost like soldiers, all_ _of_ _their faces void of any emotions._

 _I didn't know what I had to do, Victoria never gave me any specific instructions. Was I supposed to stand up with them? I didn't want to, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die right now._

 _I guess Garrett made the decision for me. He stood in front of me, every time someone would come in. His large frame blocked me from anyone's view._

" _Why are you doing this?" I asked, as Victoria lead the man and his chosen...Woman_ _for_ _the hour, out of the room._

" _Doing what?"_

" _Shielding me away from them. Why are you protecting me?" Although I had mixed feelings about Garrett, I never wanted to jump up and hug him more in my life than I did right now._

" _Would you prefer I didn't?" He challenged, raising his brow._

" _No, I mean, thank you for doing this for me."_

 _His face softened and he came and sat down beside me. He looked different when he wasn't acting all tough, he looked normal._

" _I'm not as bad as you think I am, and I promised James I wouldn't let anyone hurt you here, and I'm not going to, alright?" He said._

" _Thank you," I smiled. I leaned over and kissed his cheek, taking him by surprise. Neither one of us spoke after that. We sat in that awful room in an uncomfortable silence, the only noise coming from a TV in the corner._

 _Victoria came back, offering me a small smile. "How are you doing?" She asked._

" _Is that a trick question?" I asked._

" _Sorry," she chuckled._

" _Why is she getting special treatment?" The girl who had left an hour ago was now back and glaring at me._

" _She is not getting special treatment," Victoria said._

" _Bullshit. She has her own bodyguard. He hides her away whenever someone comes in. So what's so special about her? Are you in love with her?" She spat at Garrett._

" _Jane, that's enough. Go and clean yourself up," Victoria said, standing around to face her._

" _That's it, isn't it," Jane laughed. "You're in love with her. But that doesn't answer the question, why does she have you here? None of us have any guards, so why does she?"_

 _Garrett clenched his jaw. He stood up slowly. Each step he took made the floorboards_ _creak_ _._ _In_ _this moment, Garrett looked absolutely terrifying, but Jane didn't seem fazed, neither did Victoria for that matter._

 _Garrett grabbed Jane's jaw and got right up in her face._

" _The next time you open your mouth, it better be to apologize to her," Garrett said. "Say it," he demanded._

 _A flicker of fear flashed across Jane's face as she stepped out of Garrett's grasp and faced me. "I'm sorry," Jane said. That was the most nonsense apology I_ _have_ _ever heard. If looks could kill, I bet Jane would have buried me already._

" _Leave Jane, and go clean yourself up," Victoria said._

 _Before she left, Garrett grabbed her by her upper arm and slammed her against his chest._

" _If you ever speak out of line to me again, I will take great joy in breaking you," he said._

 _Jane didn't seem affected by Garrett's words, not in the way that I hoped anyway. She didn't seem like the other women or girls here, she appeared as if she_ _was_ _almost enjoying herself. But maybe that was it, maybe she wasn't forced to be here, maybe she wanted to her_ _e, although I_ _would have no idea why. Or maybe she just accepted her fate._

" _Don't ever put your hands_ _on my girls,_ _or threaten them again," Victoria said._

" _Then teach them some fucking respect," Garrett said._

 _A week went by and I hadn't heard anything about Anthony or his brother, or James for that matter. Every day was the same thing, every night was the same thing. Men would come and go and Garrett would always keep me away. It didn't seem to bother Victoria and as stupid as it may have been, I asked her why._

" _I don't think you would be able to handle it," she said. "And the last thing I need, is you having an attack like you did that night with a client."_

" _Thank you," I said, not knowing what else I could say to a person who was protecting me from getting raped._

" _All these other...women, are they here because they want to be or are they like me?" I asked. It was a question that has been driving me mad all week, ever since the confrontation with Jane._

" _Some are here because they want to be and some…" She trailed off but I understood._

" _Why would someone want to be here willingly? This isn't exactly a glamorous job."_

" _Some people, like Jane, she's addicted. I don't know how she came in contact with them to get to here," she said, pouring herself a glass of wine. "Do you want a glass?"_

 _I shook my head. "What's she addicted to?" I asked._

 _Both her and Garrett chuckled. "You really are an innocent little thing, aren't you. She's addicted to sex. The men that come here love her, she even has a few regulars."_

" _That's disgusting," I said. "And the rest of them?"_

" _How about you don't worry yourself too much about them," Garrett said, he pushed a plate over to me with a sandwich._

" _How do you do it?" I asked Victoria. "How can you stand by and watch the ones that don't want to be here go through that?"_

" _It's my job," she shrugged._

" _How did you get this job?" I wanted to understand how a nice woman like her ended up in a place like this._

" _Look," she sighed, putting her half filled glass down. "I had a good life, unlike some of the girls here. I had a good family, loving parents, an amazing big brother."_

" _So what happened?"_

" _Life happened. My parents died and I was young. I didn't know how to deal with that pain. My brother tried his best to keep_ _me_ _in line but no matter what, the pain was always there, it hurt too much. So I ran away from home and I got involved with the wrong people. I started doing drugs, I had sex just because it would make me feel something else," she said._

" _That's...I'm sorry," I said._

" _Don't be, it was a long time ago and met someone who helped me. He took me in and cleaned me up, he gave me this job. I haven't touched anything in almost seven years and I also haven't slept with anyone for the same amount of time."_

" _Who helped you?" I asked, wondering if it was Anthony, although he didn't seem like the helpful type, maybe it was Edward._

" _I can't tell you that," she laughed._

" _You're not allowed?"_

" _I don't want to. It's our secret between the two of us. He is the only one that knows about my life, about everything. He reminded me of my father and he treated me like a daughter. He didn't judge me for my mistakes."_

 _There was a loud crash coming from the hallway. Both Victoria and Garrett jumped up at the sound._

" _Stay here, you understand. Don't move an inch, I'll be right back," Garrett said, as he pulled out a gun from the back of his jeans._

 _The smart thing to do would have been to_ _stay seated_ _in the kitchen like Garrett had instructed me to do, but my curiosity had gotten the better of me and_ _I_ _stood up and followed_ _them_ _out into the hall._

 _Garrett and one of the other guards had a man pinned down while Victoria was holding onto one of the girls. Her face was bleeding and her clothes were torn._

" _Come on honey, let's get you cleaned up," Victoria spoke to her, soothing her hair. "Take care of that trash and then clean it up," she ordered._

 _Garrett was merciless as he beat the man. The other guard stood watch while Garrett destroyed the man on the floor. Each blow he delivered made my stomach jump. I felt sick watching, yet I couldn't look away. The man stopped moving and Garrett stood up wiping his bloodied hands on his shirt, before taking it off and wiping the blood off of his face._

" _Get this fucker out of here," he ordered._

 _I carefully backed out of there and back_ _ed back_ _into the kitchen, careful not to make a sound. I closed my eyes, trying to collect myself and rid myself of what I had just witnessed._

" _You know," Garrett said. I opened my eyes to see him in front of me, shi_ _r_ _tless. "When someone tells you to stay put, you really should listen."_


	20. Chapter 20

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **This chapter contains graphic violence and may offend some people. Please do not read if this offends you.**_

 _ **ANTHONY CULLEN**_

 _I'll never forget the day that I laid eyes on her. She was sitting outside_ _a_ _cafe on Broadway, sipping on her iced latte, with her nose buried in a history book._

 _I felt as if the air had been knocked out of me. She was so beautiful, so pure. Kate was my everything, my life...My wife._

 _We got married only six months after we met. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I wanted to be next to her for the rest of my life._

 _I loved her, I loved her so much I scared myself._

 _Her betrayal, it cut me deep because she had_ _me_ _so fooled. She had me wrapped around her finger so tight that it almost cost me my life, all_ _of_ _our lives in fact._

 _I didn't want to believe it at first. I didn't think that my Kate was capable of hurting me in that way._

 _Kate betrayed me with my own enemy. All the time we were together, she was secretly seeing Liam. They were good, I had to give them that, she was good._

 _With a bodyguard and_ _she_ _still managed to slip away and sneak off and see him right under our noses._

 _My brother told me, he warned me, there was something not right about her, but I paid him no attention because he and Rosalie never liked Kate from the start, because she was an outsider. She wasn't the daughter of a made man or a connection, she had no Italian blood in her._

 _When Kate told me she was pregnant, I wasn't prepared, but I was happy, but that was a happiness that was short lived._

 _She was eight weeks pregnant, there was no way that kid was mine. When she got pregnant I had been in Spain doing some business for my father. I had been gone for over two months, nearly three. Her conception date, it didn't add up, I wasn't here._

 _Liam had been out for revenge for many years. He was older than my brother and I, he was thirty-five at the time. He wanted revenge for his father's death ten years prior._

 _My father and_ _Liam's father_ _had a contract deal and when Liam's father couldn't or wouldn't keep to his part, that is when things turned bloody._

 _Liam's father lost his life because he was greedy, he thought he could outsmart a Cullen and make off with millions. His father lost his life because he was stupid, but Liam didn't see it that way._

 _I don't know how he manipulated Kate. I don't know what he did or said to her, for her to betray me and I guess I never will, but that does not mean my heart doesn't break every time I think about her and what she had done._

 _It's been so long now since I've thought about her, but when I do, I don't see my beautiful wife. I see a dead body, I see blood, a liar, a traitor, that to this day still holds onto my cold heart._

" _Hey," Detective Uley shouted, slamming his palms on the table by my head. "It's not nap time, Cullen, answer the fucking question."_

" _And what question was that detec…" I trailed off, unable to fight a yawn._

" _What did you do with Isabella Swan?"_

" _Are we back at this again, detective? I told you before, I don't know shit about that girl," I said, leaning back in my chair and_ _propping_ _my feet up on the table._

 _Uley chuckled lightly. He stood up from his seat in front of me, tucking his hands into the pockets of his pants. He stood next to me, his head bending down to my level, an almost victorious smile played across his face._

" _You sure about that, Cullen?" He almost sang the words. I kept my mouth shut as I watched that idiotic smile on his face grow larger. He gave me that look, you know telling me that he knew something I didn't. Little did he know, the joke was on him, on them all._

" _We have a witness that places the girl in your apartment. Our witness also has a sample of the girl's DNA, also found in your apartment. So I am going to ask you one more time, Cullen, where is Isabella?" He spoke each word, sharp and clear as if I_ _was_ _a retard and couldn't understand._

 _You see the beauty of being us is that we were better than them. They thought they were in control, but they weren't. The only way their kind got to our kind these days was by sheer luck or sheer stupidity on our part. You only get caught if you want to get caught. My brother and I, we may share blood, but we are not our father. We don't put our trust in a so called friend. Right now, I'm not even sure I can trust my own father._

" _Your witness, detective?" I laughed. Currently their witness was sitting in a basement under a bar. One thing about my brother, he does things fast. As soon as Emmett had received the call from Jacob, the order had already been given to collect Jasper and his bitch wife._

 _Yet another reason why these departments were pathetic, operated by complete morons. They let their so called witness go, they let their only credible witness walk out without so much as an offer of protective custody, and now because of that tiny fuck up they were going to end up at square one yet again, not that they had ever left it._

" _Come on, Cullen, you've been caught. You fucked up, so you might as well tell me where she is," Uley said._

" _Is my lawyer here yet? Or are you stupid fucks not letting her in?" I said calmly._

" _Now why would you need a lawyer, Cullen, if you are as innocent as you claim to be?"_

" _Because you've had me here for over five hours running your mouth and yet you're still not charging me with anything which leads me to belie_ _ve that, A: Y_ _ou get some sort of pleasure of of pissing me off;_ _or, B: You ha_ _ve no fucking evidence as you claim to have and you are trying your best to get me to incriminate myself for a crime I didn't commit. So which one is it detective, A or B? I think B," I said._

" _We have Isabella Swan's DNA, her hair was found on the bed sheets in your apartment, Cullen. I don't have to get you to confess to anything," he said, taking a step back when he heard the door open. My sister came in with the captain._

" _Get up, we're leaving," Rosalie said._

" _No he's not," Uley said._

" _Yes, he is," Rosalie said, pulling on my arm._

" _Sit your ass back down, Cullen. Captain, what's going on?" Uley asked._

" _The sample isn't a match, Uley."_

" _What was it that you were saying earlier," I said, grinning like a damn fool in his face._

" _Anthony, move it, now," my sister said._

" _You stupid fucks," I spat in his face._

" _Anthony, now," Rosalie yelled._

 _Rosalie could be worse than our mother. Sittin_ _g_ _in the back seat of the car, she didn't waste any time smacking the shit out of me. She has a good arm on her, my head is still vibrating from the impact._

" _You are going to tell me exactly what the hell is going on right now," she said._

" _I've got nothing to tell you. I didn't do anything," I said._

" _Really? Why do I have a hard time believing that. This is the second time they have dragged you in, in connection to that girl. Just tell me what you did, Anthony. I can't help you if you don't tell me the truth," she said._

 _I looked at Emmett in the rearview mirror. Emmett knew, he didn't say shit, but he knew that myself and my brother were connected to Isabella's disappearance._

" _There is nothing to tell, Rosalie," I said, grinding my teeth together. "If it would have been me that took her, they would have found her body by now on Swan's doorstep. I didn't fucking take her."_

 _She looked at me for a brief moment, sizing me up. She didn't believe me, I knew it._

" _I don't believe you," she said. "I don't have time to deal with this. I have enough trouble working on dad's case, I can't be dealing with your crap as well. Whatever you did, fix it and make sure it doesn't come back to you anymore."_

 __ _ **DINY**_ __

 _Emmett dropped Rosalie home before he and I made our way to the bar. Edward was already waiting for us there._

 _When I arrived, Alice was already a bloody mess. I eyed my brother, it wasn't like him to lose control in that way, ever._

" _I didn't touch her, that was all him," he said, nodding his head in Jasper's direction._

" _I'm sorry," Alice cried._

" _Shut the fuck up," Jasper yelled, fighting against his restraints to get to her. Alice wasn't tied up. She crawled away to the furthest corner of the room covering herself._

" _I trusted you," I said to Jasper. "And what do you do, you_ _betrayed_ _us."_

" _I can't believe she did this," he mumbled. "You stupid whore. Look at what the fuck you've done."_

" _You are all disgusting. You're all filthy pigs," Alice yelled._

" _Someone please shut her up," my brother said, rubbing his eyes._

" _Alice, shut up," Jasper said._

" _Why? They are going to kill us anyways. They don't care that we have children, they don't care about anyone but themselves," she spat._

 _My brother stepped towards her, drawing out his gun as he came to a stop by her side. He crouched down_ _to_ _her level and put the barrel against her temple._

" _You should have thought of your fucking children before you opened your mouth to the feds," Edward said, pulling the trigger._

 _Jasper faced the other way, with his eyes closed, he was crying._

" _You," I said, nudging his shoulder. "How could you let this happen? How the fuck could you let her go to the fucking feds?" I yelled._

" _I didn't know where she was going, I didn't know what she was doing. She dropped the kids off at her mother's last night and the next thing I know, we're down here." He looked back up at me, pleading with his eyes. He was a broken man. "You know I would never pull shit like this. For fuck sake, I'm involved in it as well."_

" _Yeah, but your wife didn't rat you out_ _to_ _the feds now did she," Emmett said behind me._

" _Come on Anthony, you know me. Edward, please," Jasper begged, looking from me to my brother, to his wife's dead body._

" _No," I said, pulling the trigger between his eyes._

" _What a fucking mess," Emmett said._

 _My brother was having a strange moment. The way he was looking at Alice's body, for a brief moment I questioned his mental state._

" _Don't get rid of her body. Put it in the freezer down the hall," he said._


	21. Chapter 21

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN.**_

 _I don't know what I was thinking holding onto Alice's dead body, but the thought crossed my mind before I_ _even_ _had the chance to brush it aside._

 _It was sick, and it was twisted, but it would work. It had to work, because failure wasn't an option._

 _Heidi turned out to be more than I, or my_ _family, fo_ _r that matter bargained for. Regardless of my father's wishes, regardless of my obligations to the family, there would be no way that I would tie myself to her. She disrespected me, she disrespected my niece, she disrespected my mother. At the rate Heidi was going, she would be lucky if I didn't hand her over to Victoria, or better yet, make her disappear all together._

 _But right now I didn't have the time to ponder over Heidi. My mother was keeping her in her place and I was very grateful to her for that._

 _My problem right now was making sure all our tracks were covered, we couldn't have anything coming back to us._

 _Jacob cleared up the little issue with the DNA from his side, replacing the hair that was found in my brother's apartment and on Alice's equipment, with a Jane doe's._

 _Jacob was an old family friend and a connected guy. A man of almost sixty, he held a very high position within the FBI, which gave him access to more areas, and greater power to cover up evidence and twist a situation around._

 _However, when it came to my father's case, Jacob was powerless to help because the evidence was presented to the NYPD'S highest officials. I had to hand it to Charles, he knew exactly how to bring my father down. But there were many loopholes in the case, loopholes that both the judge and the jury either ignored or chose to overlook._

" _Are you going to tell me why the hell you're keeping Alice's body in a freezer?" My brother asked._

" _When the time is right, you'll know," I said._

" _What are you, into fucking the dead now?"_

 _We arrived at Anthony's apartment to assess the damage. Everything, and I mean everything, had been trashed._

 _My brother had a taste for unique and unusual artwork, mainly early century South American and tribal African pieces. He had been to auctions all over the world to make his collection and now it was nothing but broken ancient ceramic scattered all over his floor._

" _Motherfuckers," he cursed, taking pictures with his phone of the broken art._

" _What are you doing?" I asked._

" _I'm going to sue their sorry asses. Some of this stuff is irreplaceable." My brother was almost on the verge of tears. He was very attached to his art, me personally, I couldn't see the appeal to this crap._

" _Get what you need and let's go. Send a cleaning crew in to fix this place up," I said, kicking some of the shards with my shoe._

" _Have some respect," he said, bending down and picking up the broken pieces._

" _You and me, we need to talk, so hurry the fuck up," I said, slowly losing my patience with him._

" _Yeah, yeah. Motherfuckers, look at this," he said, walking further into the trashed apartment, picking up pieces as he went along._

 _ **~DINY~**_

 _We were back in the underground. It was better for Anthony to stay here for a week, maybe more, until things died down._

 _I was downstairs in my father's office, now my office._

 _My brother had been avoiding me all night, maybe he knew what was to come. I sent for someone to collect his ass, making sure I blocked the door after he dragged himself in. Anthony wasn't going to leave this room until I got my answers._

" _You wanted to talk, so talk," he said, pacing the floor._

" _Can you sit down. Stop moving back and forth, you're making me dizzy here," I said._

" _What do you want Edward?" He spat out bitterly, slumping down on the chair in front._

" _Why the fuck would you do something like that?" I asked, trying my best to keep my temper in check._

" _Brother," he said, leaning forward on his elbows. "You and I both know that I do a lot of fucked up things. What exactly are you referring to, specifically?"_

" _The girl, Anthony. Why the hell would you hand her over to Victoria?" I couldn't and I refused to let myself think of what must have happened and is continuing to happen to her there right now._

 _My fingers gripped the edge of my chair to the point that my knuckles had turned white. Gripping onto the leather was the only thing I could do now to stop me from reaching for my gun and killing my own brother right here right now. I wouldn't kill Anthony, not yet anyways._

" _What's the big deal?" He said. "What else was I supposed to do with her?"_

" _You could have taken her back to the estate," I shouted. "Why there, why did you take her there? She's a fucking child, Anthony and you fed her to the lions."_

" _And it's a damn good thing I fed her to the lions brother, otherwise we would all be keeping dad_ _company_ _now," he roared back at me._

" _Do you have any idea what you've done?" I continued to yell as I lost it and knocked over the contents_ _of_ _the desk._

" _What the fuck is your problem? What does it matter what happens to her? She's Charles's blood, or have you forgotten that? Well, she's a used whore now," he chuckled._

 _And like that, I saw black. I had him down on the ground before he even knew what was happening. I knocked him down while he was still sitting in the chair._

 _My fist collided with his face, his neck, his back, wherever I could reach. He deserved this, he deserved a lot worse._

 _I didn't stop until he was knocked out unconscious._

 _I got up and wiped my hands clean before leaving him in there. Maybe he would die in his unconscious state and save me the trouble of having to do it later._

 _I made my way down to the bar and pulled a bottle of scotch off of the shelf, taking it back to my room._

 _I kicked my shoes off and undid my tie. I threw myself on the bed with the bottle in hand._

 _My brother did have a point, why did I care what happened to her? She's not my responsibility, she shouldn't be my problem._

 _It was my brother's fucked up decision that landed Isabella where she was now. If Anthony would have let me handle things the way they were meant to be handled and kept to the original plan, she would have never had to be with us much less where she is now._

 _Anthony fucked up, yes he did, but he had handled it. He had gotten her out of sight. If he would have left her in his apartment, it would be a Cullen family reunion in Sing Sing right about now._

 _But none of that could explain why this was bothering me so much. Why did I care what happened to her? She should be dead. Anthony should have killed her long ago._

 _She was nothing but another woman, someone that I wanted, but yet I was forbidden to reach out and take. unless I go ahead with my earlier thought, the same thought that had me questioning my own sanity, but then again that was the reason I was holding onto Alice's body after all._

 _Alice was the same_ _height_ _and_ _weight_ _as Isabella, and if I pulled the right strings, the plan will go down without a hitch._

 _Everyone would win. Charles would suffer, it would be the ultimate payback, I would free my brother of the_ _burden_ _that he thinks Isabella to be, and I would be able to get rid of Heidi._

 _I reached into my pants_ _pocket_ _and fished out my phone, well aware of the time and not caring. I called my brother in law. He was the one that spoke to everyone for me. My brother, my father and myself, we never spoke to anyone directly. If anyone wanted something, if they needed anything, it was always someone who spoke with someone who passed the message onto Emmett and even then, very few had access to Emmett._

" _Edward, it's three in the morning," Emmett groaned._

" _I need you to call Dimitri, I need to see him, it's very important, no later than tomorrow afternoon, you got that?"_

" _Got it."_

 _There was one thing I had to do first. I had to get Isabella out of that place._


	22. Chapter 22

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **WARNING: This chapter contains mention of violence and sexual assault.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN.**_

 _It_ _had_ _been two weeks since the incident in the hallway, and three weeks since I_ _had_ _been trapped in this...This hell._

 _Every day, every night, it is always the same thing, the same routine. I think I_ _am_ _slowly beginning to lose my mind._

 _Garrett never allowed any of Victoria's clients to approach me, and Victoria herself would always tell them that I wasn't available at the time._

 _I didn't understand what possessed her and Garrett to take such a stand for me. I am not stupid and I am not complaining, but their behavior was strange._

 _It was a Friday night, I knew that for sure because we were all in the living room, the girls, myself and Garrett._

 _It was a little after seven and the news program had just_ _started_ _._

 _I sat there frozen like_ _a_ _cold stone when my face appeared on the screen._

" _ **It had been three months since the disappearance of eighteen year old Isabella Swan, the daughter of the state's former district attorney, Charles Swan.**_

 _ **In that time, authorities have failed to find**_

 _ **any trace of Miss Swan whereabouts.**_

 _ **All major suspects into the eighteen year old's disappearance have been cleared, including Carlisle Cullen. Mr. Cullen is currently serving a fifteen year sentence after former DA Charles Swan compiled a large case against the crime**_ _ **boss**_ _ **.**_

 _ **Earlier today a lead detective in Miss Swan's case said the search will be scaled down as they believe the eighteen year old is no longer alive. Let's have a listen to what he had to say."**_

" _Turn that off," Garrett said. "Turn it off now."_

 _The poor girl, I felt bad for her. Garrett was a scary man and when he used that tone, he could kill you with his voice alone._

 _When Garrett jumped to his feet, that poor girl turned the TV off and threw the remote on the ground._

" _Don't turn that shit back on," he said. I was still frozen, still unable to move, still trying to process what I had heard and seen._

 _They were still looking for me even after all these months._

" _You okay?" Garrett asked, kneeling in front of me. I nodded, that was the best I could do in my state of mind right now. There were no words to describe what I was thinking or feeling right now._

" _Come on, come with me," he said, taking my hand in his. He_ _led_ _me out of that God awful living room, passing Jane as we did. She gave me her best bitch smirk, it was one that I wanted to knock right off her face._

" _Ignore her. She's a jealous whore, who puts more value on herself than she is actually worth," Garrett said, his voice was loud enough so Jane would have heard._

" _I fucked you, remember," Jane said, sweetly._

" _And you were paid for your services," he said, glaring at her._

 _Jane didn't take her eyes off of us as we climbed the stairs. That poor girl has some serious issues she needs to work through_ _._

 _We made it into the bedroom where I threw myself down on the bed and covered my head with a pillow._

 _Victoria had given me the room across from her. She had the queen bed taken out and replaced with two double beds as Garrett shared the room with me._

 _At first it had been awkward for both myself and Garrett. But as it turns out, he was easy to deal_ _with_ _. Garrett didn't even snore, he even left the room whenever I had a shower or changed my clothes. He would always wait outside the door._

 _We didn't talk when we were in here, I don't know why. I guess when we were together and alone in this room the reality of our situation sank in. I was trapped here and Garrett was trapped with me. But Garrett, unlike me wasn't a prisoner forever, he would leave when James came back._

 _I wondered where James was. He said he would only be gone a week and it has now been three. I hoped he was okay. I hoped he would be back soon._

 _Another day came and another day went or should I say, a_ _nother_ _week._

 _I haven't seen Jane since the drama last week, and I was very grateful for that. I did_ _ask_ _Victoria about her though, she told me Jane was on her period and she would usually avoid the downstairs for those few days, it was something all the girls had to do._

 _It was a loud and rowdy Friday night. For some reason, there were more people downstairs tonight than usual. It sounded like they were having some sort of a party._

 _Was that something normal? Did people celebrate in a brothel?_

" _What are they doing down there?" I asked Garrett._

" _There's a birthday party," he said. He didn't sound too impressed with what was going on down there._

" _They have birthday parties in brothels?" The very idea was laughable and disturbing all at once._

" _Someone's kid turned eighteen and_ _they're_ _popping his cherry."_

" _That's disgusting," I said. Why would someone bring their child here for a night out and especially to celebrate their birthday?_

" _Don't you want to go down and join in on the celebration?"_

" _No," he said, turning his attention back_ _to_ _the movie playing on the TV. Garrett was a big Van Damme fan, and since we've been forced in this room together, I think I've pretty much seen all the flicks._

 _I was laying in bed staring at the screen in front of me, but not really paying any attention to the movie at all. I felt my eyes becoming heavy. I tried to fight sleep, at least for a little while longer or until the movie was finished._

 _It was the sound of three precise gunshots that made me jump out of bed and Garrett to his feet. In seconds, he had his gun drawn out._

" _Don't move from here," he warned, opening the door._

 _Crap, this wasn't good. The_ _men_ _that usually frequented this place didn't cause any problems. Beside that one incident, there hadn't really been any trouble, none that I witnessed or was aware_ _of anyway_ _._

 _It took me a few moments after Garrett had rushed out to collect myself. I went to the door to close and lock it, but before I reached it, someone pushed the door open wide._

 _Instead of seeing Garrett, like I had expected or possibly even Victoria, Jane walked in followed by a man._

 _The man appeared to_ _be_ _in this thirties, maybe. He had short dark hair, dark eyes, and dark stubble covering his jaw._

" _What are you doing up here?" I asked, my eyes darting from between the two. Jane had a malicious smirk on her face, while the man standing behind her_ _looked_ _me up and down with hungry, predator like eyes._

 _He made me feel uncomfortable. Both of them being here made me feel uncomfortable and I hoped that Garrett would hurry up and come back._

" _This her?" The man asked._

" _The very one," Jane said. "Isn't she cute, like a little puppy dog. Woof."_

" _Get out," I said, this time more firmly. Jane knew she wasn't allowed up here. None of the girls were allowed up on the third floor, it was strictly off limits._

" _Where's Victoria?" I asked._

" _She's a little preoccupied at the moment. Now, this gentleman has paid for an hour of your time. Make sure you give him his money's worth." Jane winked._

" _What the hell have you done, Jane?" I said, trying to keep my calm._

" _I'll leave you to it," Jane said, as she stroked the back of her fingers along his shoulder. "Just remember, she likes it rough."_

 _Jane left, closing the door gently behind her. The man that stood in front of me, his eyes narrowed and a faint smirk played on his lips before his tongue darted out and licked_ _along_ _them._

 _Why would Jane do this? How the hell could she do this?_

 _I couldn't panic, not now, I couldn't blank out. I had to fight him, in whatever way I cou_ _ld,_ _I had to. I hoped and prayed that Garrett would hurry up, that he could help me and stop this...this monster._

 _It all happened so fast though, one second he was across the room and the next he was in front of me._

 _He grabbed my wrists and wrapped one of his hands around them in a vice grip. With his other, he used it to knock us both down on the bed._

" _Please stop," I screamed into his ear._

" _Shut up, puttana, you like this," he said. He moved his body weight slightly off of me so that I was still pinned under him but not crushed by his weight._

 _With his free hand, he tore at my t-shirt and grabbed my breast roughly, making me scream out as the pain shot through me._

" _Stop, stop, stop, please," I cried over and over. But it was no use, my cries fell on deaf ears._

 _I couldn't breath, I couldn't see clearly through my tears. I managed to free my wrists from his grip and I reached out and clawed at his face. My nails weren't long, but they weren't short either and I was able to break the skin on his left cheek drawing blood._

 _He let go of me, his hand going to his face touching the spot I had damaged._

 _I took the opportunity to jump up off of the bed and away from him._

" _You bitch," he yelled out._

 _He collected himself quickly and lunged at me. I moved out of his way, but that only added to his anger._

 _I had to make it to the other side of the room. I needed to make it to the door._

" _You're going to pay for that you stupid bitch," he said unbuckling his belt._

 _I was in the corner as he stalked towards me. My heart was beating out of my chest and my adrenaline kicked in._

 _He looked murderous, furious as he approached me slowly._

" _Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said, shaking his fingers in front of my face. "Naughty girl."_

 _This was it, I could do this. I had to do this, because there was no other option. I wouldn't let him touch me, I couldn't. I would make it to Garrett, he would help me._

 _As he neared me, I didn't take my eyes off of him. Every step he took, I had to_ _push_ _back my fear. I could do this, I mentally told myself._

 _He stood in front of me. He lowered his face close to mine, our noses almost touching. I could smell his horrid breath across my face. The mix of alcohol_ _and_ _cigarettes had never disgusted me so much._

 _He bent his head, leaning in towards my mouth. I brought my knee up and hit him in between his legs with all the force I could muster up._

 _He fell to his knees at my feet holding onto himself. I jumped on Garrett's bed and around him, managing to make it out the door before he got up. As I was running down the stairs, I could hear him coming behind me, I could hear him_ _roaring_ _._

" _Get back here, you fucking bitch," he yelled, sounding closer._

 _I turned around for a split second to see how_ _close he was, when_ _I slammed into someone who wrapped their arms around me._

" _I got you," he said. I knew that voice. Edward._


	23. Chapter 23

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN.**_

" _Here are all the requested documents, sir," Lauren said._

 _I opened the envelope, emptying the content_ _s_ _onto the table. Inside was an Italian birth certificate, translated. Citizenship papers, social security card, driver's license, and passport all for Marie Aretti, my mother's maiden name._

" _Is everything there, sir?" Lauren asked._

" _Yes, it is. Thank you very much," I said,_ _piling_ _the documents back into the envelope. I removed_ _a_ _smaller envelope from the breast pocket of my suit and slid it across the table to Lauren. One hundred thousand dollars may seem like a lot of money, but in reality, it was anything but_ _a drop_ _._

" _It was a pleasure doing business with you once more, sir," Lauren said, placing the envelope in her bag._

 _This was one thing taken off my long list of things to do, and lately that list was growing out of control._

 _My biggest problem was not going to be getting Isabella to agree to any of this, because she didn't have a choice, there was no other option, other than death. Getting her out from Victoria would not be a problem either._

 _When I had made the call to Victoria, I was on pins and needles. The thought of something, someone touching my little fiorellina in that way...It made me sick._

 _My brother, he would pay for whatever harm came to her there, but I could also not deny that I had my part to play. I could have taken her out the moment that I knew she was there, and I should have, but maybe it was denial that stopped me?_

 _I breathed a sigh of relief after speaking with Victoria, after she had assured me that no harm had come to Isabella there. Garrett had not allowed anyone, man or woman, other than himself or Victoria to come_ _to her._

 _That made me breath_ _e_ _a little easier, that meant that I could leave her there a little longer until I had all of this figured out._

 _The one thing I was certain of, the next time the books were open, Garrett would be in, he was full blooded Italian, there wouldn't be an issue._

 _My biggest problem was, what the hell do I do with Heidi? She had already caused my mother enough stress, planning a wedding that would never take place._

 _Maybe, just maybe, if Heidi had turned out differently, nicer, quieter, the perfect wife like she had been trained to be, then maybe my thoughts would not have wandered to what I was about to set in motion._

 _My father's wishes could be damned on the matter. I was not going against them. I would have a wife, just not the one that was first intended._

 _~DINY~_

 _My mother had called me, she even threatened violence, if I did not come back to the house and control Heidi. It appears that she did not take too well to the news that there would be no wedding to plan. She went as far as to threaten my mother, saying her family would seek retribution if we were not to_ _be_ _wed._

 _The stupid fool was oblivious to the fact that her family had no power to do anything of the sort._

" _What the hell is going on here?" I said, walking into the kitchen where Heidi and Renta were having a silent stare off, my mother was nowhere in sight._

" _You!" Heidi pointed her sharp manicured finger in my face._

" _Finally! Please, Edward, do something about this, I beg you," Renta said_ _, as she stalked away_ _._

" _Get your fucking finger out of my face," I said, swatting Heidi's hand away._

" _Your mother, very joyfully, informed me that there would be no wedding," she spat._

" _And, what's your problem?"_

 _With her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed in on me as she started to stalk towards me, getting herself right up in my face._

" _Either there is a wedding, or I tell papa and there will be hell to pay," she threatened._

" _You threatening me, sweetheart?" I said, it was impossible not to laugh at the idea._

" _Trouble in paradise, brother?" Anthony asked. "I think we may have given the wrong one to Vicky."_

 _I clenched my jaw, ignoring his words. What was he doing here? He was supposed to lay low, at least for a few_ _more_ _weeks after what had happened._

" _You are in no position to make threats," I warned Heidi._

" _You need to be fitted for your suit. I have you booked_ _for_ _tomorrow," she said, and with those final words, she stormed out of the room._

" _She's a cunt," my brother said. "Looks like you've got your work cut out for you."_

" _What are you doing here? I told you to lay low_ _, not to s_ _how your face around_ _here_ _."_

 _He shrugged. "I was bored. Besides, I think my new sister in law is going to be fun." He laughed._

" _She won't be your anything," I said._

" _Really? You have to marry her, at least until Rose figures all of this out."_

" _I am getting married, just not to...to that," I said._

" _Who's the other lucky lady then?"_

" _Your little lamb," I said, using the pet name he had adopted for her. It was almost amusing watching the play of emotions cross my brother's face. He was angry, furious actually, as he let my words sink in._

" _Are you out of your fucking mind?" He spat. "You can't have her," he said, with clear determination._

" _And why would that be?" I asked, keeping my calm. I folded my arms across my chest._

 _He said nothing, he was debating with himself, opening and closing his mouth a few times but no words came out, he looked like a dying fish, fresh out of ideas, fresh out of excuses._

" _She's at Victoria's. She's nothing more than a used piece of trash now. Is that what you really want for a wife?" He said. I noticed his hands_ _were_ _balled up into fists at his side, and the uneven rise and fall of his chest._

" _How the fuck are you going to marry a missing person, Edward?" Anthony spat. "It's been months and they're still looking for her."_

" _I have thought of that. Don't worry brother, I have everything taken care of," I said._

" _Is that why you're holding onto Alice's body?"_

" _I have my reasons."_

" _And I'm the fucked up brother," he chuckled. "You're holding onto dead bodies, planning on marrying the daughter of a traitor, the daughter of the man that put our father in jail and destroyed our family, and I'm the fucked up one." He laughed hysterically. "You can't use Alice's body, you fucking idiot, even Dimitri won't be able to help you. Alice is fucking frozen and very much recognizable, even if you defrost her, it's still too late," he said, wiping away at his tears._

" _You know, I was thinking, I love this cake. What do you think Edward," Heidi said, coming back with a magazine in her hand, waving it in my face._

 _I pulled my gun out and pointed in Heidi's face, pulling the trigger while looking at my brother. Heidi's body fell in a heap between my brother and I._

" _Now they have a body."_

 _The thing with this life of ours, everything was about honor and respect and tradition. A Don needs to have a wife, and I will tie Isabella to me in every way possible._

 _Isabella Swan may be a missing person, but Marie Cullen was an innocent soul and Anthony wouldn't be able to touch her._

" _What is going on?" Our mother asked, stopping in her tracks when she saw the body_ _lying_ _between Anthony and I. "Oh, thank God," she sighed. "What are you two doing? Don't just stand there, let's get her out of here before she does any more damage to my floors."_

" _Anyone else here?" I asked, digging through the draw_ _er_ _s for some garbage bags, Anthony had gone to retrieve a blanket or anything big enough to wrap her in._

" _No, only Renta," my mother said._

 _Anthony had returned with a large blanket. Laying it on the floor, the three of us rolled Heidi's body on it and wrapped her up. Our mother laid the garbage bags down and proceeded to wrap them perfectly around the blanket._

" _The two of you stop staring and help me," she said._

" _I think you're doing just fine without our help," my brother said._

" _This isn't the first time I've had to get rid of dead body," she shrugged._

" _Care to explain?" I asked. As far as we knew, our mother had no involvement in any aspect of the family business. Our father had made sure that she had little to no involvement whatsoever, or so we thought._

" _It was a while ago. Your father and I were at the cabin in Big Bear, when we were attacked. There was five of them, and only the two of us. Your father didn't bring any of his men along, it was only supposed to be the two of us for the weekend, no one was supposed to know that we were there," she said._

" _You don't have a cabin in Big Bear," I said._

" _Not any more we don't. I couldn't let your father take them all on his own, he wouldn't win, and as much as he hated the idea, he handed me a gun, and well, we blew the place up and flew out that night," she said, shrugging as if it were no big deal._

" _Well, fuck," my brother said._

" _Help me already," mom said._

" _You two take care of this, I have somewhere I need to be," I said._

" _Don't fucking do this, Edward. You're making a big mistake," my brother warned._

" _The only mistake I've made, was not stepping in and putting an end to this sooner."_

 _~DINY~_

 _Pulling up outside the house, there were more people here than I had expected, and I wondered what the hell was going on. As I walked up the path, three gunshots went off inside._

 _The guards at the doors, drew out their guns and ran in, I did the same, following behind them._

 _When I ran in, the first thing I noticed was Garrett had some idiot pinned down on the floor, one of the guards kicked the gun out of his hand._

" _What the fuck is going on here?" I asked._

" _He's_ _drunk, sir," Marco, a long time friend of my father's said._

" _What are you all doing here?"_

" _It's my son's birthday, he wanted to have a little fun and I…"_

" _What are you doing down here?" I asked, looking at Garrett, cutting Marco off, I didn't care for his bullshit excuses. "Where is she?"_

" _Upstairs on the third floor. She's safe," Garrett said._

 _I climbed up the stairs two at a time. I could hear loud noises coming from up there the further I made it up._

" _Get back here, you fucking bitch," someone called out._

 _Loud footsteps were coming towards me, until she slammed right into my chest._

 _I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to me._

" _I got you," I said, hoping it would offer her some sort of comfort._

" _Please get him away from me," she said._

" _Sir," Andre said, "I am very sorry about this. She is a very difficult one."_

" _What did he do to you?" I asked Isabella._

" _He...He…" she trailed off, but she didn't need to say anymore._

 _With the gun still in my hand and loaded, I raised it up and shot the asshole that put his hands on her. His body fell down the stairs and_ _past_ _our feet._

" _Come, bambolina, let's get you out of here," I said, kissing the top of her head._

" _Edward," she breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed in my arms._

" _I got you dolcezza, I got you."_


	24. Chapter 24

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN**_

" _You lied to me," I said._

" _I did. I'm sorry."_

 _We laid in bed facing each other. He brought me back here last night, back to this underground world they had. The place made my skin crawl, but, it was the lesser of two evils. I wondered if I would ever see Victoria again? Like me, she was trapped in this world, although she was dealt a better hand._

 _I sighed, closing my eyes, I turned on my back, staring up at the ceiling not wanting to face him anymore. He was a liar of the worst kind. He hid behind a smile and sweet words, but underneath it all, he was a far greater monster than his brother._

" _Gattina, please look at me," he said, brushing the back of his fingers along the side of my face._

" _Stop it, stop it with the damn nicknames," I said, shooting up out of bed. He sat up, adjusting the covers around his waist. He didn't have a shirt on and I wondered when he had removed it the night before._

" _I like the nicknames," he smiled._

" _I don't. I don't understand what you're calling me and it's not fair."_

" _Gattina means kitten," he said._

" _Do I look like a cat to you?" I spat. I_ _didn't_ _know what was fueling my anger right now, but I couldn't reign it in, I couldn't control it, and no matter the monster Edward was, I knew he wouldn't put his hands on me._

" _Actually, you do. You look like a very feisty gattina right now."_

 _I left him in the bedroom and stormed off into the adjoined bathroom, I even made a point to slam the door with as much force as I could muster up._

 _I rested my hands against the sink and looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't realize what was staring back at me anymore._

 _It would be easy to break down right now. The thought of shutting myself off from everything, from them, from the world around me was sounding more and more appealing. But if I did that, if I shut off and didn't care what happened to me, didn't care about anything, what then, what would happen?_

 _I closed my eyes when I heard the soft knock on the door. How long have I been_ _lost in my thoughts?_

" _Dolcezza, come out, please," Edward said, he didn't sound mad. I opened the tap and splashed some cold water on my face before going back into the bedroom and facing the music._

" _We need to talk," he said._

" _What is there to talk about?" I asked._

" _I owe you an apology, bambolina." Again with the nicknames, it was making my head spin._

" _I need to know what happened in that house," he said._

" _What?" His words caught me off guard. What did it matter to him what happened to me there? He didn't do anything to stop his brother from putting me there, so what does it matter to him now?_

 _I don't know why, but_ _he looked almost pained as he waited for my response._

" _Nothing happened. No one touched me, if that's what you mean. Garrett and Victoria wouldn't allow it for some reason," I said._

" _You don't_ _seem_ _too happy about that," he said._

" _I am very happy about that, believe me. But it didn't make any sense. That was the reason your brother put me in there, he said he would turn me into a whore. Them protecting me, it didn't make any sense," I said, slumping down on the bed. I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn't. I didn't want to see the faces of those girls, those women there, the filthy men and the way that they treated them, while_ _I_ _stayed safe and hidden behind Garrett's back. Their faces, the things I saw there, would haunt me forever._

" _Anthony should never have put you in that situation, and I don't know what to do to make it up to you. No apology can ever make up for what you must have seen there," he said, sitting beside me. He grabbed my hand in his and threaded his fingers through mine, bringing our joint hands to his lips and kissing my fingers._

" _You're right," I said, freeing my hand from his. "There is nothing you can say that would make up for what I witnessed there."_

" _Then what can I do?" He asked, the sincerity in his voice tugged at me and it made me want to believe that under his exterior, was a good and caring person, but I would only be fooling myself if I believed that lie._

" _Let me go home, please, I want to go home," I said. That was the only thing he could do to make me forget all this, to make all this better, make it go away._

" _You know I can't do that," he said, pained. His eyes softened as he stared back at me._

" _I know," I said. I_ _knew_ _that unless some miracle happened, I will never be free from here, from them._

" _I'm sorry," he said. "You shouldn't have ever been involved in this. This is your father's doing. He should be dead and you shouldn't be here."_

 _He spoke of my father's death so easily. My father, the reason I was here, the reason this was happening. I didn't want to be bitter, I didn't want to say that I hated my own father, but, he had done this to himself, to his family, to me. He had involved himself with_ _these_ _people, and then he_ _had_ _stabbed them in the back._

" _You should be living your life," he said. He got off of the bed and kneeled in front of me, grabbing my hands again in his. "I can promise you one thing, this won't last forever. You won't be trapped here forever."_

" _How can you promise me that?" I asked._

" _I need a little time. You have to stay down here for a little while until everything is said and done," he said, although none of what he was saying made any sense to me at all._

" _What are you talking about?"_

" _I know that there is a possibility you will hate me more so than you do right now."_

" _Why would I hate you? What are you going to do?" I asked, almost panicking at his words._

" _Nothing is going to happen to you, no one is going to hurt you. I made you that promise before, and failed, but this time, this time it's different. No one, not even my brother would dare to touch you," he said._

" _Why is that." That was a wild promise to make. He's right, he had made that promise before and he failed to keep it. What's different now?_

" _Because, bambolina, you will be my wife," he said. The words left his mouth so effortlessly, as if what he had just said was no big deal. His wife? He wanted me to be his wife?_

" _Is this another sick joke?" I asked, looking at him in utter disbelief._

" _No, it is not. This is the only option that you have, it is the only option we both have. Do you think being my wife would be so bad?" He asked._

" _Are you out of your mind? I can't marry you. I don't want to marry you, or anyone for that matter. Get away from me, leave me alone," I said, tugging my hands out of his, I crawled on the bed and away from him._

 _He stood to his feet and ran his hands through his hair, letting out a deep sigh._ _At_ _this moment, he looked so stressed, not in control, he looked almost, normal._

" _I don't want to play the bad guy, Isabella. You were never meant to be a part of the plan. I am trying to make the best out of this situation. I am trying to keep you safe and this is the best way that I know how," he said._

" _Why are you doing this? Why does it matter to you what happens to me? Why don't you or Anthony just kill me already?"_

 _He was on the bed and hovering over me before I even had time to release a breath. My God, he moved fast. There was nothing threatening about him right now, in fact his eyes were soft, gentle even._

" _I shouldn't care about you, but I do. I shouldn't want you, but I do and I am far too selfish to let you go. I thought...If I were to act indifferent, as if whatever happened to you, didn't affect me, that it would be for the best, but it wasn't, it drove me crazy, all those weeks, the not knowing, the wondering. I kept trying to convince myself that I had no reason to care. I still do not know why I care what happens to you. I don't understand why your life matters so much to me, because you are right, you should be dead." He sighed._

" _Then kill me already," I whispered._

" _Did you not hear a word I just said? I can't kill you. The thought of you dead, it makes me physically sick. I feel very few emotions, fiorellina, but you have made me feel something I thought myself incapable of ever feeling," he confessed, and by the look on his face it was a hard confession for him to make. He looked as if he didn't quite believe he had managed to get those words out._

" _What is it that you feel?" I asked, biting my lip to stop myself from asking anymore questions. I didn't want to push him, I wanted him to talk, I wanted him to tell me everything, I wanted to understand. But he gave no verbal answer. He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me, gently, with too much care it made my head spin._

 _I kissed him back unable to stop myself from responding. I should push him away and tell him to stop. This wasn't right, he was my captor and according to him, my soon to be husband. None of this was right, but my head was somewhere else, somewhere where there was no pain, no thought, just the feeling of the sweet moment._

 _His hand journeyed down my body, grabbing me around the knee and wrapping it around his waist. I felt the hardness of his length rubbing up against my core, making me moan into his mouth._

 _He was making me feel things I have never felt, making me want things I shouldn't want. I felt hot and alive. I wanted this with him, yet I didn't. I should tell him to stop this, yet I couldn't._

 _Maybe it was finally happening, maybe after everything I had seen and been through these past months has finally caught up with me and I have lost my mind. Or maybe, just maybe, I had developed Stockholm syndrome. Whatever the reason, I couldn't deny that I liked what he was doing to me right now. His hands that had slipped under my shirt and molded my breasts, his mouth trailing hot kisses down my neck and the friction he was creating between my thighs. I was at a point of no return, because if he dared stop now, I was sure I would explode._

" _Gattina, I shouldn't do this, not now," he said,_ _his voice_ _pained._

" _Please don't stop," I begged. He was torn between giving in and letting go. "Please."_

" _Non riuscivo nemmeno a se volevo," he whispered hoarsely. I have no idea what he said, but his words affected me in a way like nothing has before. When he spoke in Italian, when he used that accent, there were no words to describe what it felt like._

 _He pulled my shirt up over my head, exposing my breast to him. Latching his mouth onto one and then the other, swirling his tongue around my nipples, I almost came undone from that torture alone._

 _He kissed_ _his way_ _down my stomach, swirling his tongue around my navel. His fingers played with the waistband of my underwear. With one hand, he gripped them tearing the material from my body._

 _I gasp at his harsh action. He shrugged, not at all apologetic that he had destroyed my underwear._

 _With his head in between my legs and no underwear to hide me from him, I tried to cover myself with my hands, but he pushed them away._

" _Don't do that," he said._

" _What are you doing?" I asked._

 _Then it happened, he buried his face in between my thighs, his tongue licking a path from the bottom to the top. My head fell back on the pillow from the sudden sensation that he was creating_ _with_ _in me._

 _His tongue was hot on my already overheated core. I was_ _soaked_ _when he attacked, sucking onto my clit as he pushed a finger in me, making me squirm at the invasion, it wasn't uncomfortable or painful in any way,_ _just_ _strange._

 _He had turned me into a panting, moaning mess. I briefly wondered if_ _these_ _walls were sound proof, but forgot about everything and everyone_ _around_ _me when an odd sensation hit me. My stomach tightened and my thighs did too. Whatever it was, I couldn't fight it and I couldn't stop it from happening._

 _A second later, a wave of absolute ecstasy washed over me, the force of which turned my body into jello._

 _Edward kissed his way back up my body with a smirk plastered on his face like he had just won some big prize._

" _Good?" He asked. I simply nodded, because talking would be a big effort right now and I couldn't muster up that strength for the life of me._

 _Edward leaned up off of me_ _and moved to his knees,_ _lowering his sweatpants and kicking them off. I kept my eyes on his face, I didn't want to look any further down. I don't know how I could feel_ _embarrassed, the man had his face in between my legs only moments ago._

" _Relax, don't tense," he said, settling himself in between my thighs once again._

 _This was really happening, I was about to let this happen, I thought. "Are you okay?" He asked, kissing me with too much tenderness. He shouldn't be this gentle. The man was making me dizzy in all senses. But I knew I had reached the point of no return. There was no going back, no backing down._

" _I'm fine," I assured him and my voice held no doubt._

 _He didn't take his eyes off of me. I felt him sink into me, every single inch of him. My breath caught in my throat, damn it, this hurt more than I thought._

 _I gritted my teeth together and gripped his shoulders to the point I knew I would mark him, he didn't seem to notice or mind._

 _At this moment I didn't know what was worse, the sting, the pain, the feeling of being so completely full, or the fact that he wasn't doing anything?_

" _Breathe gattina, the pain doesn't last," he whispered in my ear. He began to move, slowly at first, probably for my benefit, giving me time to adjust to the new sensation. His movements still made me hurt, but it was bearable._

" _Fuck," he groaned, picking up pace. This was all so overwhelming, the new sensation, the feeling._

 _This was nothing like I had seen in movies or read in books. It hurt, and it hurt a lot and he was being gentle. There was no explosive oragasm like all those books promised. But it wasn't bad either, and the way he held onto me, for a brief moment it made me believe that what he confessed earlier could be real._

 _It was over now. He pulled out making me wince. I felt the warm fluid seep out of me. He got up and went to the bathroom, I heard him turn the water on. I laid there, not knowing what to do or if I was capable of getting up._

 _I heard him come back into the room, but I continued to stare up at the ceiling._

 _I felt the bed dip beside me and_ _felt_ _him pushing my knees apart._

 _I looked at him, wondering what he was doing. He had a warm, wet towel in his hand. He cleaned me up, the warmth easing some of the pain. It was such a simple act, but there was too much thought put into that act. It was too loving, too caring, too gentle and I didn't know what to say about it or how to handle it._

 _We didn't talk after that. He laid next to me, taking me in his arms, his fingers roaming through my hair until I fell into a deep dreamless sleep._


	25. Chapter 25

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN**_

 _I felt different and yet I didn't. I felt as if the world around me had changed, yet nothing had shifted at all._

 _I can't deny and say I didn't feel a level of regret for what had happened last night, but I wasn't going to cry rape, or even blame Edward, because I had_ _played_ _my part_ _as well._

 _I could have stopped it, but I didn't._

 _I could have told him no, but I didn't._

 _The truth was, I wanted it, I wanted it as much as Edward had wanted it last night. I don't_ _know_ _if it was because of the heat of the moment, or if it was because of something more._

 _This morning, Edward had breakfast brought in. We ate together in the most uncomfortable silence before he said he had to leave, he had business to take care of, whatever that meant._

 _Edward had always confused me, but now, more so than ever._

 _Did I_ _ask him what was going to happen_ _to me_ _now?_ _Did I_ _ask him what I was supposed to do here? I knew Garrett was outside the door. I still wondered about James. I wondered where he was? Was he okay? Was he safe? Would I ever see him again?_

 _No matter_ _what direction_ _my mind wondered now, it only added to my confusion. With every answer came another question._

 _Edward wanted a wife, no, Edward wanted me as his wife._

 _How would that work?_

 _Does that mean he was going to let me go on the condition I marry him first? And if that_ _was_ _the case, if I ever saw my father again, what would I say to him? How could I ever look at him the same way again when I know the truth, the real him, the lies?_

 _The bedroom door swung open in a rather dramatic fashion. It bounced off_ _of_ _the wall only to be stopped by his hand._

 _All blood drained from my face when I saw Anthony leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest._

" _You look better than I had expected," he said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. "I should kill Garrett and Victoria as well for not letting my plan come to fruition. But, I think I should thank them more for protecting you."_

" _Why?" I frowned._

 _Anthony shrugged, not bothering to offer me any sort of answer, not that I had expected him to._

 _With each step Anthony took towards me, I took two back until I had nowhere to run._

" _Will you stop moving away from me. I'm not going to hurt you," he said._

 _If I could have stopped myself from laughing in his face, I would have. The look he gave me was murderous, it was a look I was accustomed to_ _seeing_ _on his face. What I wasn't accustomed to and what shocked me, was him reigning in his anger._

 _With his hands balled into fists by his sides, he took a few deep breaths and calmed himself._

" _Put something nice on, I'm taking you out of here," he said._

" _Where are you taking me?"_

" _Change your fucking clothes, little lamb. I promised I wouldn't hurt you, that's not an invitation to try my patience," he spat the words out while grinding his teeth together._

" _I don't have anything to wear," I said._

 _He groaned, rolling his head around and cracking his neck. He stormed over to the walk in robe, pulling the doors apart. He walked in, I kept my distance, waiting at the foot of the door._

 _I watched in silence as he ran his fingers along the fabric that were perfectly hung up and assorted by length and color._

 _He picked out a short dark blue dress. "Put this on," he said, taking it off the hanger and throwing it at me. "What are you waiting for?" He asked impatiently._

" _Can you turn around or go outside," I said, biting my lip, waiting for him to snap at my request._

 _He growled, pulling my hand, he dragged me into the walk in and stepped out, closing the door. I breathed out a sigh of relief, that hadn't been what I was expecting from_ _him._

 _I quickly changed my clothes, glad to discover that the dress was nowhere near as short on me as it looked on the hanger. I picked out a pair of shoes, a pair of black ballet flats._

 _I couldn't hide in here all day, as much as I wanted to. I knew it would only be a matter of minutes, if not seconds, before Anthony_ _stormed_ _in here and dragged me out._

 _With that thought in mind, I opened the doors and stepped back into the bedroom._

" _Don't you look...Cute," he smirked, licking his bottom lip._

" _Cute," I repeated his word. He held his hand out to me. I stared at it, not knowing what I should do. It was as if his offered hand was mocking me, laughing at me, silently telling me that if I took it, who knows what Anthony would walk me into. His brother wasn't here, there was nothing and no one to stop him from doing whatever he wanted with me right now, and Anthony didn't care for the consequences that his actions might bring._

" _Fuck," he sighed. He grabbed my hand and pulled me along side him out of the bedroom. He locked the door and took us out into the main part where I had been_ _the first time he had brought me here, Garrett followed behind us._

 _We sat at a table in the furthest corner of the room. From here, we had the perfect view of the whole room. The place was nowhere near as busy as it had been that night._

" _What time is it?" I asked._

" _Three in the afternoon," he said, snapping his fingers at someone. Moments later, a young woman appeared wearing some provocative lingerie, a black and white babydoll with matching panties. Anthony mumbled some order to her and she was quick to run off._

 _From the corner of my eye, I saw Garrett walk off. He stopped half way, meeting a man dressed in a dark charcoal suit, who slipped something into Garrett's hand._

 _Anthony, the whole time, stared at me, making me feel more uncomfortable than I already was._

" _Why did you bring_ _me_ _out here?" I asked._

" _I'm stuck here for_ _awhile_ _, the same way that you are," he said._

 _The young woman returned, placing a drink in front of me, and another in front of Anthony, along with the bottle._

" _Your food will be ready shortly, sir," she said, before scurrying away._

 _Anthony threw back his glass, swallowing the entire content_ _s_ _, before pouring himself another._

" _Drink it, you'll like it," he said, motioning to my full glass containing some blue and green liquid. I stared at the glass as if it were the devil itself. No matter what, I_ _would_ _refuse to drink it. I would not fall for this again. He wants to get me drunk again._

" _No thank you," I said, pushing the glass away from me._

" _Suit yourself," he shrugged, grabbing the glass and dow_ _n_ _ing it himself._

" _Here," Garrett said, holding out a bottle of water and blister pack containing one white pill in it. I looked at it suspiciously and then up at Garrett._

" _What is it?" I asked, taking the bottle and pill from him. Garrett leaned in close and whispered in my ear low enough for only the two of us to hear. "It's the morning after pill, Edward sent someone to get it for you."_

" _Oh," I said, feeling my face flush red._

" _What the hell is that?" Anthony asked, pointing to the pill. I quickly opened the bottle of water and swallowed the white tablet. How the hell could I have been so stupid as to have not realized he hadn't used anything? How could he have been so stupid as to not use protection?_

" _What the hell did you just swallow, little lamb?" Anthony asked, grabbing my hand in his, squeezing it painfully tight._

" _I…" I can't tell him what it really was. I can't let him know what happened between his brother and I last night._

" _It was for her panic attacks. She has been taking one every day for the past few weeks," Garrett lied. Starring Anthony straight in the face, he lied so convincingly._

" _That_ ' _s_ _still going on?" Anthony asked._

" _Did you expect_ _it_ _to go away?" I asked, happy that he had bought the lie. I would have to thank Garrett later._

" _I can't break that attitude of yours no matter what, can I? Or do you think because my brother has staked some sort of claim on you, you can talk back to me?"_

" _I don't think anything, and I don't know about your brother staking any claim," I lied. I didn't want to make him mad, I didn't want him to snap because I knew that Garrett would be powerless to help me against him._

" _Hmm...I didn't think it would be this hard to see you again," he admitted,_ _downing_ _another shot. By the time he was almost through the whole bottle, his eyes were glassed over, his cheeks were rosy and he had demolished a whole_ _steak_ _._

" _You know what, little lamb, you confuse me. You confuse the fuck out of me," he said._

" _I'm sorry," I said, not knowing what else to say. He has been going on and on like this for the past half hour. Everything that he says makes no sense._

" _If I had met you like a normal person walking down the street or in a bar, if I asked you to dinner, would you have said yes, if I offered to buy you a drink?" He asked, although his speech was slurred._

 _I looked at Garrett hoping he would give some help here. He shrugged and turned the other way. Why was Anthony asking me this?_

" _Don't ignore me, answer me," he slurred._

" _I don't know. I guess that's something you and I will never know." His question had me thinking, if I would have met either one of them under different circumstances, would I have given one of them the time of day? I really don't know, because I can't imagine them as anything other than the monsters they are._

 _I had to look away from him. I didn't like the way he was looking at me right now, like he was sizing me up, trying to figure out my expression, to see if I was lying to him or telling the truth._

" _You remind me of her," he said, taking another swig from the bottle._

" _I remind you of who?"_

" _She had a smart mouth like yours," he chuckled. Although he was physically present here, his mind was a million miles away. "She had me fooled. So wrapped around her finger that I never saw it coming. She betrayed me and you know what, little lamb?" He said, leaning over the table close to my face, I could smell the alcohol on him._

" _She fucked me over, but I won't let you do the same to me." He kissed me. It was sloppy and disgusting and he wouldn't take no for an answer. I stayed as still as I could and hoped he would stop sooner rather than later._

" _You want my brother, but, little lamb, I'm the nice one. I'm better," he said, before his head slumped down on the table._

 _ **~DINY~**_

 _Anthony's drunken actions last night as well as his words still played over in my head. He was a confusing man, I thought I had him all figured out, but I was wrong._

 _Edward didn't come back last night. I didn't know where he was, but I was thankful that_ _I_ _got to be by myself._

 _It would have been a perfect day, had Anthony kept away. He wal_ _t_ _zed into the bedroom and threw a garment bag on the bed. He told me to be ready in twenty minutes or else. There was something about him today, something different, something I couldn't put my finger on. He wasn't happy, far from it, but I couldn't make what emotion it was that he was feeling._

 _I_ _was_ _shocked, somewhat surprised when I saw the tutu and en point shoes in the garment bag._

 _It was almost a mechanical, robotic instinct that I slipped the costume on. This was something familiar to me, it was comforting and I didn't give it a second thought._

 _But when Anthony reappeared in the room, that's when dread filled me. He never did anything without a reason. What reason could he have behind this?_

 _He hasn't spoken a word to me as he led me out of the room. Again, we went down the same hallway, only now we turned right and not left. When he opened the double doors, my mouth fell open._

 _There was a strip club down here. There were women giving private lap dances on the ground. There was a woman on the stage swinging around the pole to some hypnotic melody._

" _I don't think they would appreciate ballet," I said. Taking in a few deep breaths._

" _I think they would," Anthony said, his mouth close to my ear sending a shiver through me._

" _Anthony please, I don't want to take my clothes off for these men," I begged._

" _Why not, it's what whores do," he spat the words out as if they were venom pooling from his mouth. "I think you need to give me a private show," he said, dragging me away from that room, and locking us in another._

 _The leotard and soft tutu Anthony had brought me were beautiful. The fabric felt soft and very, very expensive. The attention to detail of the embroidery was like nothing I had seen before, not even in the school's costume room._

 _I stood in front of Anthony, my whole body was trembling. Why was he doing this to me? Why was he making me wear this? He wouldn't make me go back out there like this? Those men didn't want to see a ballerina, those men were here for an entertainer, someone who would take their clothes off not keep them on._

 _"Don't you look a vision, little lamb," he said, licking his lips. He picked up a small remote from the coffee table in front of him. The melody filled the room, I recognized it as L'aurore, from Coppelia, it was a dance I had practiced many times before. But as the music started, I couldn't move a muscle in my body, I was frozen in this moment in this spot. Why was he doing this to me? Isn't it enough_ _that_ _he_ _has a_ _lready taken so much from me, why did he continue to torture me?_

 _"Dance," he demanded._

 _"Please," I begged._

 _"Either you dance for me or you dance for them, don't think that I will not put_ _you_ _back out there. You should know me better than that by now," he said, pointing to the door with a raised brow._

 _I closed my eyes and willed myself not to cry, I wouldn't and couldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he was breaking me, more than he already has. It didn't matter what he had said to me, it didn't matter how many times he had hit me, but this, this would ruin me._

 _I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. I mentally took myself to another place, somewhere else, away from this room and away from him, from all of them._

 _My feet started to move, my body moved to the soft music. I was shaky, I knew that. I hadn't danced in so long, combined with his eyes on me, it made me slip and fall._

 _I slapped my palms against the solid wooden floors. I was frustrated with myself, angry that I could no longer find joy and happiness in something that I was once passionate about, that I loved. I sobbed quietly on the floor, refusing to stand up, refusing to continue. What was the_ _worst_ _he could do, hit me? Send me out on that stage? Send me back to Victoria? Did he even have the power to do any of that anymore?_

 _"Come here," he said._

 _I looked up at him trying to read his expression, wanting to know how much trouble I was in before I faced it._

 _But it was something I didn't expect. His face was soft, almost caring, yet pained. I swallowed the lump in my throat, he's never looked at me that way before and it made me uneasy because I knew how easy his mood shifted._

 _"Come here, Isabella," he said again._

 _I stood up carefully, patting my skirt down and went over to him. I stood in front of him, with my eyes closed waiting for it, waiting for whatever pain he would inflict on me_ _._

 _He grabbed my wrist and pulled me down to him until I was straddling him. With his other hand he cupped my cheek and leaned closer to my face, placing a gentle kiss on the corner of my mouth._

 _"You're a beautiful dancer," he whispered._

 _"Please, Anthony, don't do this."_

 _"Am I not allowed to touch you, little lamb?" He smiled, ignoring my discomfort, letting his hand drop from my face to my exposed thigh._

 _"You don't mind when my brother touches you like this, little lamb, why is that?"_

 _"He hasn't..." I trailed off. How did he know? He couldn't know, Edward wouldn't have..._

 _"You think I don't know, Isabella, but I do," he said, kissing a_ _trail_ _from my cheek and my neck._

 _"I know you let him touch you. I know you let him fuck you"_

 _"Well, well, well, what are you doing brother?" Edward said, appearing out of nowhere._

 _I tried to climb off of Anthony, but he wasn't having any of it. He held onto my hips, holding me down in his lap. I didn't want to turn around to look at Edward, I didn't want to know what had to be going through his mind seeing me and his brother like this._

 _"Mind if I join you, brother?" Edward asked._

 _"By all means." Anthony smirked, biting on his bottom lip._

 _I felt Edward's hands on my shoulder. I felt his head dip and his mouth descend_ _ed_ _on_ _the_ _right side of my neck and then Anthony on the left._

 _The sensation between the two was like nothing I had ever felt, not even the night I shared with Edward. This was something new, something foreign, welcomed, yet unwelcome. No matter what, I knew that I could never_ _do this_ _, not with the two of them._


	26. Chapter 26

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ANTHONY CULLEN.**_

 _The thought of having my little lamb, had crossed my mind so many times, and now here I was, with her on my lap, my fingers inside her leotard working her over into a frenzy, as my brother stood behind her kissing a trail up and down her neck,_ _molding_ _her breast with his hands._

 _It would not be_ _the_ _first time my brother and I had shared a partner. We have on oh-so-many occasions, and it has always been my favorite pastime with my twin._

 _But this was different. The way she was looking at me, it was easy to forget that there was another person in the room with us touching her._

 _I was blinded though, blinded by the fog._

 _There was no lust in her eyes, or need, no, the only emotion dancing in those eyes, was fear._

 _She feared me and rightfully so. I was her captor, her abuser. I should have killed her months ago when I was blinded by hate. It would have been easier, simpler, for her and for me._

 _Every day that went by, she confused the hell out of me. I convinced myself that I had to hate her. I had to hate her because she was Charles's daughter. She was the blood of the man who betrayed my family, who had succeeded in locking my father away. For a while, hating her worked, until my brother took notice that is. I had expected him to be on my side, I had expected him to have the same hate for her that I had. I should have known my brother better than that._

 _It pissed me off, the rage grew inside of me. The first time he touched her and she didn't flinch. She looked at him with trust, it was enough to make me sick. How could she look at him that way?_ _He_ _and I were the same person._

 _She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against my brother's chest._

 _Regardless of what was going on in her mind, her body still reacted._

 _She came around my fingers, her hands gripped onto my shoulders, fisting the material until it tore apart in her hands._

 _She had her eyes tightly closed, but that didn't stop the tears falling out. Her body shook with silent sobs. She had to be hating herself right now, but she had no reason to. It does not matter what your minds tells you, your body will always react._

 _I looked up at my brother, for the first time since this had started, wondering how the fuck he let me get this far, how he let me put my hands on her after he threatened to kill me if I ever touched her again?_

 _Edward's eyes were bloodshot and his pupils dilated. He was high and possibly drunk as well. That wasn't like him. He hasn't snorted a line in years. Something must have gone down, something bad._

 _I shifted Isabella off of me and on_ _to_ _the couch beside me. Edward leaned over her, wrapping her legs around his waist._

 _I left them there. I couldn't take part and I couldn't and wouldn't watch. He wouldn't hurt her, high or not, he wasn't me, he hid himself well._

 _I locked the door to my father's office trapping them in there. No one would dare go in there anyway unless invited._

 _I went back out into the main area, my focus on the bar. I walked behind it and pulled a bottle of scotch off of the top shelf, I wouldn't need a glass._

 _I found an empty table at the furthest corner of the room. Out of sight, out of mind. I opened the bottle_ _and_ _took a large swig from it, welcoming the burn._

 _I don't know what pissed me off more right now, my feelings, the feelings that I thought I would never feel again? Or the fact that I had my hands on her and yet I couldn't let myself have her?_

 _I thought drinking my problems away would help me, it would make me feel something other than regret. But my mind wandered to a dark place, a place I had closed off a long time ago, a place that brought with it too much pain, too much suffering. It's all her fault, it was all her fault, I thought, slumping my head down on the cold table. I made the mistake, I closed my eyes, I let my mind wander there._

 _ **~DINY~**_

" _Kate," I called out. "Kate."_

 _She came running into the room, flushed and out of breath._

" _You okay?" I asked._

" _Yeah, I didn't expect you home so early," she said, running into my arms. I picked her up as she wrapped her legs around me. I backed us up until her back hit the wall._

" _Anthony," she moaned out. I haven't seen her in over a week, I felt like a sex starved maniac as I tore apart her shirt, seeing she had no bra on._

" _I fucking love you," I spoke into her neck._

" _I love you," she whispered back. "Please, Anthony, I need you."_

" _Anything, baby," I said, cupping her breast, bringing my head down and sucking one into my mouth. Her hands became forceful, threading her fingers through my hair, trying to push my head away from her._

" _Please, Anthony, please stop," she cried._

" _What the fuck, Kate," I said, looking back at her, only it wasn't Kate that was staring back at me_ _. That this wasn't a dream, and I was wide awake_ _._

" _I'm not Kate. Please, Anthony, stop."_

 _My little lamb, fuck. Damn it. What the hell was wrong with me. I haven't done this...I haven't dreamt of Kate in a very long time. I worked too damn hard to keep her out of my mind, the only woman I ever loved and she betrayed me. Was I still drunk from last night? Maybe, but what was she doing here in my room?_

 _It was all her fault, It was Isabella's fault, she was bring_ _ing_ _up these feelings in me, she was making me into something I was not...In to something I didn't want and couldn't be anymore. Never again._

 _She was the cause_ _of_ _my pain, my nightmares, the darkness that I let myself slip back into._

 _My little lamb stood there backed up against the wall with her shirt torn, crying and I fucking hated it. I couldn't look at her now because it awoke something in me, something deep._

 _I closed my eyes and backhanded her, the promise I had made to my brother long forgotten. Her face w_ _h_ _ip_ _p_ _ed to the side from the impact, and she stood there holding her cheek, not daring to move, she knew better than to disobey me._

" _Was this your fucking plan all along?" I said, stalking her again. "Did you think it would work?" I yelled._

" _Please, Anthony, I don't know what you're talking about," she cried. "I'm not Kate," she repeated over and over, as her body slumped down the wall and onto the floor._

" _You're no better than her. No, you're worse," I said, grabbing a fistfull of her hair, bringing her back up to her feet. There were so many things I wanted to do to her. I wanted to hurt her for bringing all this to the surface for me again. I wanted to destroy her. But...I wanted...I needed to…_

" _What the fuck are you doing?" Edward yelled. He knocked me down to the ground and kicked me in the ribs. I groaned out as the pain hit me. I'm sure he broke a rib._

" _Che cazzo ti ho detto," he said. He leaned over me and grabbed my head, punching me square in the jaw. I didn't fight back. I had no fight left in me._

 _I_ _laid_ _there for a long time in my own blood. Every mistake I had ever made flashed before my eyes. Every wrong I had ever done. Every time I had laid my hands on her. It was easy to blame her, because hate was easy, to_ _o_ _easy and for a long time, it was the only thing I let myself feel, hate, anger, pain. Maybe if I had done things differently, maybe if I had seen it sooner, if I hadn't been blinded by so called love. Love, that one word that destroyed everything._

 _I closed my eyes and drifted into the unconsciousness here on the cold floor in my own blood._

 _ **~DINY~**_

 _Things died down after that night. After I woke up, my brother beat the shit out of me once more until I passed out, but this time I fought back._

 _I didn't remember what I had done to make him pissed and I didn't care. He wanted a fight, I gave it to him. His body was every bit as fucked up as mine, but in the end he won and I hate to admit that._

 _Edward had taken the little lamb out of the underground and put her in his apartment. James had returned and Garrett was also with her._

 _My brother had left, he said he had something to take care of. He didn't want to tell me what was going on. He_ _and_ _Rosalie had gone to see our father. Maybe our sister finally had a convincing enough case? Or maybe there was something else going on?_

 _Today was a big day for another reason. Today was the day Isabella was would be laid to rest. In the end it was Heidi's body that made it into the coffin._

 _Dimitri, our cousin and the state coroner, well he covered that up for us, along with Detective Black, it was almost too easy to get away with this. But all the bases were covered._

 _But Isabella had to see this, she had to be there to see her family suffer, to see what my brother had caused, to see what he was truly capable of._

 _I didn't speak to her as we sat in the back of the car. Garrett and James were in front. Neither of them said a word. It was a deafening silence in the car and the tension was thick. Isabella sat on the opposite side of the car. It was as if she were trying to put as much distance_ _between us_ _as she could in the small space._

 _The car came to a stop. There were many other parked cars along the road, we would blend in without drawing any attention._

 _The first thing I noticed, Charles, the cause for all of this. He was_ _bent_ _over the closed coffin, Detective Uley, attempting to comfort him. I smiled, enjoying witnessing his pain, a pain I knew I contributed to. Charles got what was coming to him. This was a payback worse than death. Charles didn't deserve the mercy of death. It was only unfortunate that his daughter had to pay a worse price than him, a daughter that by the end of this week would be my sister._

" _Do you see that, little lamb," I said, pulling her out of her thoughts. She was staring straight ahead, and I doubted she had realized where we were._

 _She turned and looked out the window where I was pointing. She took her seatbelt off and leaned in for a closer look. Her eyes squinting together, realization probably dawned on her as she must recognize some of the faces._

" _Who's funeral is this?" She asked, confused._

" _Yours." I smiled._

" _WHAT?" She yelled, close to my ear._

 _I put my hand on her thigh, gripping it hard. "Don't yell at me," I said, losing my calm._

" _I'm not dead, Anthony," she whispered, continuing to stare ahead._

 _She was dead. She had died the moment my brother laid eyes on her._


	27. Chapter 27

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ISABELLA SWAN.**_

 _"Do you see that, little lamb," Anthony said, pointing to_ _the_ _large gathering of people standing around_ _a_ _white coffin._

 _"_ _Whose_ _funeral is this?" I asked, almost afraid of his answer._

 _"Yours," he replied, keeping his eyes on me._

 _"WHAT!" I yelled. My funeral? But I wasn't dead._

 _"Don't yell at me," he said, gripping onto my thigh to the point of pain. But pain was something I had become accustomed to, and Anthony's grip was almost invisible._

 _"I'm not dead, Anthony."_

 _"No, you're not, but they think you are." He shrugged._

 _I tried to calm myself, to steady my breathing. I didn't want_ _nor could I_ _have a panic attack, not now, not here._

 _"Who's in the coffin?" I asked._

 _My face was almost pressed up against the window of the car, trying to make sense, trying to see if he was bluffing, to see if there was anyone there I recognized._

 _My ballet teacher was standing there with flowers in his hands. I spotted Charlotte. There were a few people I recognized, people that my parents worked with, my mom's_ _colleagues_ _, the NYPD. And then I saw them. As the_ _crowd_ _of people moved around, they came into sight. My mom and dad._

 _Dad on his knees with his hand on the coffin, and mom_ _was_ _being comforted by someone._

 _"What the hell have you done?" I yelled, trying the door handle and the window, but nothing_ _would open._

 _"Do you see that, little lamb. No one is going to come look for you anymore," he said, with raw bitterness. "Drive." He ordered._

 _I slumped back in the seat staring aimlessly ahead._

 _No one will ever come and look for me. I was dead, dead to the world and dead inside. I had nothing left to live for, no hope of freedom, nothing, it was all gone. I closed my eyes and slipped away slowly into a darkness that I never wanted to leave._

 _I welcomed the darkness, welcomed it like a cold embrace. The dark place, it was inviting, it welcomed me in._ _It_ _offered me what I wanted, hope, love, freedom. In this darkness I was free. In this darkness, I didn't feel a thing._

" _It was not me who planned this, little lamb. It was your fiancè. He said it was all for the best. Don't you agree, little lamb?" Anthony said. His voice was proud and triumphant and almost cocky at what he had just told me._

 _Edward had set this up. Edward had been the mastermind behind the plan. He had set up my so called death._

 _I knew Edward was not the good brother, far from it. I think between the two, I hated Edward the most because he was the one that made me feel things I knew were wrong, he was the perfect demon._

 _Edward was nothing but a demon with a beautiful face who spoke sweet words, but behind that mask laid a monster greater than the devil._

 _Anthony was upfront. Anthony never pretended to be perfect. Anthony never hid his hate;_ _he never hid his true self._

 _My heart wept for my mother, what she must be thinking, feeling. She was a gentle soul, a kind and loving person. This would be killing her, tearing her apart. I hope that she never finds out the truth. I hope she can move on. I hope she can survive this and find some happiness through the pain._

 _My father...I had loved him so much. I had always looked up to him, and now, I realize I was looking up to a liar, a man who not only deceived his own family and brought them pain, but someone else's family as well. But, I hope that after all of this, he too can find some happiness. Regardless of what he had done, he was still my father and I would always love him._

" _Stop crying," Anthony said. "You have no reason to cry. If your father loved you one bit, he would not have done the things that he had done, he would not have risked his family. Look where you are, little lamb. Your father's decisions, his poor choices put you here. Don't cry because you will never see that animal again. He's not worth your tears."_

 _ **~DINY**_ _**~**_

 _I became a zombie, a robot, not even James's return brought me any happiness. Everything was too much and my mind didn't know how to cope with it all._

 _I could deal with almost everything they threw at me before. The mental torture, the mind games, Anthony's physical abuse, even the almost rape, because I knew that no matter what, I had to survive because someone out there was looking for me._

 _But now, now I was dead. No one would come, no one would look for me again. I was trapped in this world, trapped between two brothers, trapped in hell until the day I died._

" _Hey, I thought you would be happy to see me again," James said, sitting beside me._

" _I am happy that you're back," I said, offering him a weak smile._

" _I'm sorry for what happened when I was away. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."_

" _It's not your fault, you have nothing to be sorry for," I said._

" _No, but I feel responsible for your safety," he said, putting his arm around me, I leaned into him and rest my head on his shoulder._

" _Garrett helped. He took care of me," I said._

" _I told you he was a good guy."_

 _We sat like this in a comfortable silence. I missed James, it was good to have him back. It was nice to be around one person who seemed to genuinely care about me. James made me feel almost normal, but James couldn't help me forget. I was dead to the world._

" _James, who was in that coffin?" I asked._

" _That's nothing for you to worry about," he said, uncomfortably._

" _I have a right to know, don't you think? I have a right to know who they killed for me."_

" _I don't know, Isabella. That's not the sort of information that's shared," he said._

 _At the mention of my name, it was as if something had snapped in me. I shot up_ _off of_ _the couch, putting some distance between us._

" _Isabella," he called me._

" _Stop it," I yelled. "Don't call me that. Isabella is dead."_

 _I stood by the large window, staring down at the city below, the people passing by, the cars stuck in the midday traffic, the rain_ _as_ _it fell. From here, there was a clear view of Central Park. It was spring now, everything was once again green, but it might as well have been gray._

 _Who would have thought, that this would be the thing to break me, a name, a damn name._

 _Isabella!_

 _There was no Isabella anymore, she didn't exist. She was lowered into the ground days ago. She was dead and so was I._

" _Hey, come here," James said. I ignored his voice, I drowned out all the sound around me and continued to look out the window aimlessly. I didn't know who I was. I had no identity. I had nothing and was no one. Anthony did say he would break me, but I never thought it would be mentally. Funny enough, it was his brother who had created this whole mess. They used me for revenge, used me to play their game and now...I had nothing left to lose._

" _Isabella, please don't do this," James said, he put his hand on my shoulder dragging me out of my daze._

" _I am not Isabella," I shouted, pushing his hand away._

" _Stop this now," Edward said._

 _The brother's stood at the entrance of the room. Edward looked his regretful self, while Anthony stood with his hands in his pockets not seeming fazed by anything._

" _Stop what? What's there to stop?" I challenged. What was the point in keeping quiet? What was the point in listening to him when I had nothing left to lose._

" _James, leave now," Anthony said. Although James seemed reluctant to leave, he didn't take his eyes off of me, but I didn't look away from Anthony. "NOW, James," he demanded. James sighed, he left the three of us here and took his leave._

" _What's the matter Anthony, don't want any witnesses around? You can't hit me with an audience? That's never stopped you before," I said._

" _Where the hell is that attitude coming from?" Anthony chuckled._

" _Attitude? You think that's what this is?" I laughed_ _out loud_ _,_ _I laughed so hard that_ _my stomach hurt. The two of them looked at each other with concern. They couldn't be concerned about me, they didn't care about me at all, nobody cared about me anymore._

" _Isabella," Edward said, taking a step forward, I took one step forward as well._

" _I am not Isabella," I said again. "Isabella is dead, lying in a coffin where you put her."_

" _I'm sorry, dolcezza, but please calm down," Edward said. The calm brother, the voice of reason, the monster, spoke. Calm down. I was calm, and I surprised myself that I hadn't had an attack over this yet._

" _I hate you the most," I said, staring him in the eyes. An unreadable emotion flashed across his face, he looked almost pained by my words. Good, I thought. He deserved to feel my pain, he deserved to hurt right along with me._

 _I left them there and went back to the window. I didn't care what they did to me anymore. No physical pain could hurt as much as the physiological one._

 _I heard the footsteps behind me, not one set but two._ _One brother_ _stood on either side of me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the blow, waiting for the pain to come, but after moments of waiting,_ _there was_ _nothing ._

 _It wasn't Edward's chest my face was pressed against, but his brother's. He held me close to him, his arms around me were tight, yet gentle. It was something I wasn't used to_ _getting_ _from Anthony, but I wasn't stupid to think it would last, nevertheless, I relaxed into him and let him do whatever it was he was doing to me, because I didn't care anymore._

 _Edward stood behind me stroking my hair, he leaned in and placed a lingering kiss on my cheek. I closed my eyes tightly and sighed._

 _It was what I did next that shocked the hell out of all three of us. I looked up at Anthony, cupping his face in my hands, I kissed him. It wasn't anything soft or gentle, I attacked him, but he responded with as much force as me._

 _Behind us, I heard Edward let out a feral sound, something that I can only describe as animalistic. He press_ _ed_ _himself into my back, his hand sneaking around my waist, and then I was turned around from Anthony's arms, facing Edward, he pushed the hair off of my shoulder and buried his head there, attacking my neck with open mouthed kisses._

" _We shouldn't…" Anthony said, but before he could protest, I kissed him again._

 _I don't know what came over me, what was wrong with me that I was allowing this to happen._ _There was a part of me that wanted this, even though I knew how wrong it was, I was powerless to stop it because the feeling was too strong. They both wanted this, they both wanted me. They played me and now I would play them. Maybe I can put it down to stockholm syndrome, possibly, or maybe it was because for a brief moment I was lost in another place. I forgot about the pain and anguish. I closed my eyes and forgot who I was with. It was easy to pretend, almost too easy._

" _Stop," Edward said. "No." He pulled me away and out of his brother's arms. "She's my wife. Don't even think about it," he warned._

" _I shared mine," Anthony said, smirking back at his brother. Edward looked ready to kill._

" _She's not Kate, and I am not you," Edward said, sternly. "Get out. Get the fuck out."_

" _Right, because you're the good guy, you're the one that swarms in to save the day," Anthony mo_ _c_ _ked._

" _OUT," Edward shouted, making me jump._

" _I'm going," Anthony said, holding up his hands in surrender. "But just remember this brother, she kissed me."_

 _I stood frozen in my place. The realization of what I had done finally hit me. I had kissed Anthony, no, I had attacked Anthony. I was no better than a whore...The whore that Anthony promised to make me into. I closed my eyes and felt my body begin to tremble. I fell to my knees with a painful thud, rocking back and forth. What had I done? What have I become? Who was I? I was nobody. Isabella would have never done that, but I wasn't Isabella anymore was I?_

 _I lost track of time and things became blurry. My mind wandered off. Everything that had happened these past months flashing before my eyes, memory after memory that were embedded in my mind. I must have_ _fallen asleep at some point. When I woke up, it was dark outside, and I was in bed beside Edward. He was laying on his side, one of his hands draped over my torso._

 _I removed his hand as gently as I could. I made it halfway to the living room when I noticed Garrett and James sitting on the couch. I didn't want to go in there, I didn't want to face them._

 _At the end of the hall were doors that lead out onto a large balcony. I tried the doors, but of course they were locked. Turning back around, I contemplated going back into the bedroom, but there was a dim light coming from one of the bedrooms that caught my eye._

 _Anthony sat at the end of his bed. He held his arm up in the air, watching the blood as it slowly ran down his arm._

 _My sudden gasp caused his head to snap up and he came out of whatever trance he was in._

 _"Are you okay?" I asked him, my voice shaking._

 _He smiled at me with a smile so beautiful and angelic smile, it didn't suit him.._

 _"Spying on me, little lamb," he said in that deadly tone, that tone that I had become so accustomed to, that tone that meant I was in trouble and there would be hell to pay._

 _"Come here."_

 _I swallowed the lump in my throat. My whole body was trembling as I made my way to him. Why did I come here? Why didn't I go back to bed? But why was he here, bleeding on the floor? His brother had told him to leave, I saw him leave. When did he get back? Why did he come back?_

 _As I neared him, I noticed the scattered packet of white powder on his left and a broken whisk_ _e_ _y bottle on his right. I guess that's what he had to have cut himself with._

 _"You are supposed to be in bed with my brother," he said, grabbing me with that bloodied hand and pulling down on the floor with him._

" _You're not supposed to be here," I said._

" _I can't seem to stay away," he said, running the back of his fingers under my chin._

" _Why?" I asked, confused by this side of him._

" _Because you're here," he said. Putting his bloodied arm on the back of my neck, he pushed me forward until our lips met._

 _I tried pushing him away. He didn't put up much of a fight, he was clearly drunk and high._

 _I stood up, ready to walk out and leave him here to drown in his own blood, and booze. But…_

" _Don't leave me here," he said, weakly._


	28. Chapter 28

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **CHARLES SWAN.**_

 _I didn't think, I didn't feel. How could I when my life, my soul, the reason for my existence, her heart no longer_ _beats_ _. How can I continue to go on when I have nothing and no one left to live for?_

 _The pain was unbearable, and it was suffocating me. It had gripped my shoulders and it had pulled me down. I was stuck in the darkness, stuck in the cloud, I was stuck in the pain._

 _This place was worse than hell._

 _Hell would burn me, it would make me feel the pain. This place was dark and I was here all alone in the silence._

 _My beautiful ballerina, gone._

 _My little girl, gone._

 _My life, my love, gone._

 _"An angel, sent back to heaven to live with the father forever and ever."_

 _I could not even look at my ballerina one last time. No one wanted to tell me how she died, or what they did to her. All I knew, they found her body in Syracuse, dumped by the Onondaga Lake. But I wasn't an idiot, I had seen first hand what Anthony and Edward were capable of, I knew what the Cullen's were capable of. I had seen it many times with Carlisle._ _I had_ _covered_ _up_ _cases and evidence for him more times than I care to admit._

 _"Charles, come on, they're going to lower the coffin now," Sam said._

 _"No, no, no, they can't. They can't take her from me," I cried._

 _"Come on Charles," Sam tried again. I had no strength left in me to fight him. He dragged me back and pulled me to my feet._

 _My Renee came and stood next to me. She was always the strong one, but not today. She fell to her knees as our ballerina's coffin was lowered into the ground, her fingers digging into the earth as she cried._

 _"Mommy loves you, baby. Mommy will always love you. Sleep my baby."_

 _It was unbearable to witness, yet impossible to look away. I have never seen Renee in this much pain and I knew that I had no one to blame for any of this but myself._

 _I could blame Anthony, I could even blame Carlisle. But the reality was I only had myself to blame._

 _Ten years ago, I had made the worst decision of my life. Ten years ago, I had accepted the devil's deal. Ten years ago, I sold my soul and everything else with it, my life, my love, my family._

 _I should have walked away when I had the chance. Maybe if I did, maybe I wouldn't be stuck here today, stuck in this bottomless pit of pain, where every second that went by it_ _seemed_ _to drag me further and further down into its depths._

 ** _~DINY~_** __

 _I sat on the sofa watching the people around me talking quietly among themselves. They all looked upon me with pity,_ _with_ _sympathy._

 _When all this started, two years ago, when I had agreed to help bring Carlisle down, I knew it was a bad decision, but I kept telling myself that it was my job and I was doing the right thing._

 _But sometimes, it felt as if I was fighting a losing battle. For one criminal I help put away it seemed another five pop up and take his or her place._

 _Putting Carlisle away, did it solve anything?_

 _No!_

 _Did it make things worse?_

 _From every aspect and every sense, yes._

 _My involvement with Carlisle has cost me the one thing, the one person that I held_ _dear the most,_ _the one I loved the most above all else._

 _I could play the blame game a million time_ _s_ _, but in the end the finger will always come back pointing at me._

" _This is all your fault," Renee said._

" _Renee, stop," someone said, a work colleague of hers, maybe, I didn't recognize her._

" _No," Renee yelled, pushing her away. Everyone around us stopped and stared at the two of us._

" _This is all your fault. My baby is dead because of you. Because you chose greed over your family. Money, Charlie, money, over your own family."_

" _Renee…" I whispered. It pained me to see her like this. My happy wife. The woman who was always full of life. Her eyes were dead as she stared at me. There was no emotion in them, there was nothing._

" _Where is that money now, Charlie? Where the fuck is it?" She yelled. She was on top of me in the blink of an eye. Her hands collide_ _d_ _with any part of my body_ _that_ _she could reach. I let her attack me, but I couldn't feel anything, I was too numb, too broken. Nobody seemed to stop her. They watched as if this were some sort of show or maybe they too agreed with Renee._

" _I will never forgive you for this, Charlie, never," she said. "My baby's gone," she cried, slumping in my arms, burying her face in my neck._

 ** _~DINY~_**

 _I have_ _lost track of time. It was hard to tell when one day started and another day ended. Maybe two days went by, maybe three. Renee left to stay with her mother. She said she could not_ _bear_ _to be around me, she could not_ _bear_ _to be in this house anymore, where everything reminded her of our daughter._

 _I hadn't left the house. I couldn't. I haven't left her room. Her smell still lingered here, even after all these months._

 _I_ _lay_ _in her bed, wrapped up in her sheets, the same sheets that she had laid in last. Nothing in this room had been touched since that night._

" _ **Daddy, did you see me, did you see me?" She came running to me, wrapping her little arms around my leg.**_

" _ **I saw you, baby. You were amazing," I said, picking her up, I**_ _ **swung**_ _**her around. Her soft laughter filled my ears, warming my heart.**_

" _ **Can we get ice cream now?"**_

" _ **Anything you want, baby," I said, kissing her rosy cheek.**_

 _How do people deal with this sort of pain? How can they find the will to go on after their life has been taken from them?_

 _How did this end? Would it ever end? Would the pain ever subside?_

" _ **What's that?" I asked.**_

 _ **My ballerina stood there, staring at the letter in her hand, shock painted all over her face. Her mother stood behind her, grinning from ear to ear.**_

" _ **Well?"**_

" _ **I got the scholarship. They accepted me," she said in disbelief.**_

" _ **Are you surprised? I knew you would get it," I said.**_

" _ **We need to celebrate," Renee said, kissing our daughter on the cheek. "Congratulations baby, I knew you could do it."**_

 _Everything was still in this room, all of her clothes. Those damn tutus that I always complained were too darn expensive. But she always looked amazing in them, like a princess. She was a princess, my princess._

 _I ran my finger along the trophies and awards that were lined up along the shelf atop of her desk. There were too many to count, but I remember being there when she received every one of them. I never missed a performance of hers, I never could._

 _On her desk, she had a picture of the three of us. It was the last picture taken of the three of us at her last performance._

 _Renee and I were smiling proudly at her, while our ballerina looked ahead at the camera. Her big smile and wide eyes. It made my own eyes water all over again._

" _Daddy love_ _s_ _you so much, baby," I said, picking up the photo and kissing it._

 _I walked back over to her bed, laying down and wrapping myself up in her sheets once more._

 _I laid on my side with the picture next to me, with my free hand, stroking my fingers over the cold_ _glass_ _._

" _I'm sorry baby. I was so stupid, I couldn't protect you. What you must have gone through. What did they do to you, baby," I cried, gripping that frame as hard as I could. "My little ballerina. I will always love you, Isabella, always baby. Daddy will see you soon," I said._

 _I flicked the safety off on the revolver and with shaky hands placed the cold metal under my chin._

 _This was my only way out. This was the only way to end the pain. The only way I could be with my ballerina again._

 _I closed my eyes, letting the hot tears fall. The last image I would ever see was of my family, together and happy._


	29. Chapter 29

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN.**_

" _You're getting married, tomorrow?" Aro asked, in an oddly irritable disbelief._

" _Yes."_

" _To Marcello's daughter, the_ _girl I had arranged for your father to bring her? I didn't think the wedding would be this soon. Where is she? I would like to meet her."_

" _She's...Gone." I shrugged, pouring myself another glass of scotch._

" _Gone where?" Aro questioned with narrowed eyes._

" _Heidi will not be my bride, Aro," I said, watching as his face dropped, but he collected himself quickly._

" _Then who is_ _your bride-to-be_ _, godson?"_

" _That is not your concern, godfather. You will only see her, if you need to see her."_

" _Edward, you are a Don. Your marriage is important. Give me this woman's name so that I may do my research," he demanded wheeling himself over to me._

" _You may leave now," I said, waving him off._

" _Edward," he said, firmly grabbing a hold of my hand. "We do not want a repeat of what happened_ _to_ _your brother. You need to leave this woman and marry Marcello's daughter."_

" _I think you are forgetting your place again, godfather. Who I marry is not your concern. But if it will help you sleep tonight, know that I have done my research. If you are concerned about her family, do not be, she is full blooded," I lied. While Isabella's mother was full blooded Italian, Charles was not. His father was Sicilian, but his mother was English. But of course Marie, was from a full Italian family._

" _I cannot let this happen. I am sorry, but I cannot let you do this. You need to marry Heidi. Edward, for the sake of the family, for the honor and respect," Aro insisted._

 _The doors of the study burst open. My very frantic sister rushed into the room. Her movements stilled when her eyes landed on Aro. Whatever she had been worried about a second ago, she now masked with a smile._

" _Rosalie, what a surprise. I did not expect you to still be up at this hour. Or is it all this excitement over your brother's wedding that has you sleepless?" Aro smiled._

" _I need to speak with my brother," my sister said._

" _By all means, do not let me stop you."_

" _I need to speak with my brother alone. It is a rather private matter," she said._

" _Of course. Maybe, dear Rosalie, you might have more luck in talking your brother out of this marriage with a mystery woman than I have," Aro said. He kissed my sister's hand before wheeling himself out._

" _I'll try," my sister said, void of any emotion. She waited for Aro to leave, locking the door after him._

" _What's wrong?" I asked._

" _Where's Anthony?"_

" _Taking care of some business. What the hell is going on, Rose?"_

 _My sister looked from the locked door and back to me, nervously. She knew there were cameras in this house, she also knew Aro was aware of that. There would be no way Aro would linger outside the door._

" _I think Aro helped Charles Swan with dad's case," she finally said._

" _That's a big accusation you're making Rose. Are you sure?"_

" _I don't know," she sighed, flopping down on the couch. "But it would explain a lot."_

" _Like what?" I asked. Anthony and I had always suspected Aro was up to something, ever since he insisted his son become a made guy the next time the books were opened, but our father had refused the idea almost immediately._

 _Caius was the sort of man that should not even be involved in this business, in this family. If it weren't for the fact that he was Aro's son, I am sure he would have been taken out long ago._

 _I don't know what happened to Caius, it was as if Aro hadn't raised him at all. He didn't know his place, and at times, he didn't know his limits. Those were the sort of things that got people killed. Caius was the sort of man that wanted power and control, he didn't want to take orders, he didn't want to be told what to do. My father had organized for him to run a small section of Brooklyn, in the port. He was responsible for making sure that any shipments arriving were to make it to their final destination safely and untracked. It was about the only job he was good at, but I suspected Aro helped him with that._

" _There are things in there that don't make any sense. Things that Aro has tried to hide from me. Do you know how I got those documents, Edward? I broke into his house and copied them," she said._

" _You're going to have to give me_ _the_ _details here, Rose. We heard everything that was presented in court, what did we miss?" I asked._

" _They charged dad with embezzling money from an account here to one in Italy and then transferring it to another in Switzerland. Those accounts aren't in dad's name. How did Swan know they were his accounts? The house in Portland, I don't know what's there, but that house wasn't in dad's name either. The house was put under his name a month before he was arrested."_

" _FUCK," I said. "How did we not see this?"_

" _We can't tell Anthony any of this, you know what he'll do, and we don't even know what Aro's real involvement was," Rosalie stressed._

 _Our brother would end Aro if he found out about this. He had never had too much patience with our godfather. If I'm honest, I think Anthony is biding his time and waiting for the perfect occasion, a good enough reason to end Aro._

 _I cannot let him do that just yet. If there is any truth to my sister's accusations, we have to get to the bottom of it, we need to find out what Aro's true involvement was in my father's case._

" _Don't tell mom either. She_ _cannot_ _find out about this," I said. Our mother, she was a sweet woman, but underneath that exterior was a woman you did not want to mess with. She loved our father to the point of almost obsession, if any of this got back to her, I would not be worried about Anthony reaching Aro first, but our mother._

" _I am trying to piece this all together, Edward. But there are so many things that don't make any sense. Why would Aro betray dad?"_

" _Because, Aro wants what dad has. He wants his position," I said._

" _If that's true, Edward. Then why help Charles put dad away? What would it matter if dad was locked away, or dead even. There is still you and Anthony to factor in...Unless…"_

 _ **~DINY~**_

 _The wedding was only a small gathering. Only the people that needed to be here to witness, were here. Of course that included Aro, but I was having Emmett watch him closely._

 _Isabella was with James and Garrett. They had brought her up to the estate. James had told me, she hasn't spoken a word. I didn't know how to feel about that. After that night, I found her with my brother on the floor asleep surrounded by broken glass and cocain._

 _I don't know what my brother said to her that night, but she hasn't spoken a word to me, or anyone since._

 _My mother had organized this last minute wedding in a matter of days. Of course, having it at the estate helped. It was out of sight and away from prying eyes. It was_ _still_ _too_ _early for Isabella to be seen out in public. There was still a great_ _deal of_ _media attention around the case considering that Charles's body was discovered in his daughter's bedroom last night. He had killed himself._ _I didn't want that small piece of information getting back_ _to my bride any time soon, or ever. It was something that she did not need to know._

" _Who are you getting married to?" Sofia asked, tugging on my pants._

" _A very pretty girl," I said, picking her up._

" _Is she prettier than me?" Sofia was her mother's daughter after all. She was every bit Rosalie in a miniature._

" _You will always be the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on," I said, kissing her cheek._

" _What's her name? She better be nicer than the other one. I didn't like that one, she was mean and ugly."_

" _Her name is Marie," I said._

" _That's a pretty name. It's like mine. Sofia Marie." She beamed._

" _That's right it is."_

" _Uncle Anthony, hug me," Sofia said, wiggling out of my arms. She wrapped herself around Anthony's waist._

" _Rose, get it off of me," Anthony said, staring at our sister, obvious irritation on his face and in his voice._

" _I love you,_ _Uncle_ _Anthony," Sofia sighed. She knew that she made Anthony uncomfortable, and she played him at every chance she could._

" _I really wish you would have let me meet this Maria before the wedding," my mother said, prying Sofia off of Anthony._

" _You will meet her soon enough."_

" _I hope she likes the dress I picked out. I hope it fits her. Seriously, Edward, what is going on?" My mother stressed._

" _How about we all take our seats, it's almost time," Anthony said, escorting our mother to her seat. Garrett came in and took his seat on the opposite side of my family. He gave me a small nod, letting me know that everything was okay and going to plan, although his face didn't look convincing._

 _James appeared at the entrance of the room with Isabella, their arms linked together. The first thing I noticed was her flushed face and red eyes, anyone in this room would be blind not to notice that. Although none of them would be looking at her that closely, they knew better._

 _James took one step forward, but she stayed frozen on the spot._ _Her_ _eyes were downcast, she was staring intently at the floor._

 _James leaned in and whispered something in her ear. I don't know what he said to her, but when he took his next step she followed his lead._

" _Oh my God," I heard my mother's whispered gasp. Anthony had put a hand over her shoulder, holding her down. My sister stared at Isabella with her mouth wide open, shocked and angry at the same time. They recognized her. None of the other twenty people in this room said a word, they wouldn't dare._

 _James let go of her hand, although she was reluctant to let_ _go of_ _him. I_ _held_ _onto her hand tightly, rubbing small patterns with my thumb over her wrist. Her pulse was very rapid and the rise and fall of her chest was evident._

 _It was over before it began. There were no big speeches, no big production. We only exchanged simple vows. She hesitated, but she said her "I do." Her voice was loud and clear and filled with hate as she spoke those two little words._

 _I did take the opportunity to kiss my bride. My cupped her face in between my hands and brought my lips to hers. She moved her body closer to mine, her hands grabbed onto my jacket. She held onto it as if it_ _was_ _some sort of life support. She let me kiss her, she let me have my way with her mouth. Holding her, having her this close to me in this way, it was easy to slip away and forget we had twenty pair_ _s_ _of eyes on us._

" _I want to make everything better," I said. Pulling away. Looking into her red, watery eyes. She shook her head. "No, you can't," she said._


	30. Chapter 30

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **MARIE CULLEN (ISABELLA)**_

 _Married!_

 _I do!_

 _Two words that made it official. The two words that officially killed off Isabella for good._

 _I do!_

 _Today was the day that Isabella really died, in my eyes at least, and Marie had taken her place._

 _Marie Cullen, the wife of a career criminal, a monster. There would be no escape, not from this, not from him, not now or ever. Maybe in death, but I doubt_ _I would escape_ _even then._

" _I want to make everything better." His words, simple words that held no meaning and no value._

 _He had made promises before, and he had broken them. His words meant nothing to me. He spoke a meaningless sentence and as far as I was concerned, he was only wasting his breath. He would never be able to keep his word._

 _You cannot make something better, you cannot fix something that is beyond repair._

 _How could I ever forgive him for the wrongs that he had done? How could I ever forgive them? What sort of person would I be if I let him take over my mind, if I let him try and make everything better, as he had put it? How could that even be possible?_

" _Smile," he said, leaning close to my ear, and placing a small, lingering kiss behind it. The simple action made me shudder._

 _Right, smile, put on a show for these people. They must be laughing inside their heads witnessing this. How pathetic we must look. Their boss marrying a corps_ _e_ _._

 _One by one, the few guests that were here came to congratulate us. They kissed both_ _of_ _my cheeks and Edward's hand. No matter how hard I tried to smile, to force it, it didn't happen. Edward notice_ _d_ _, but he didn't say anything. I_ _had_ _to look like a mess. James had tried to calm me down_ _in_ _the minutes before coming out here. I had another attack, but this one was not as bad, I didn't pass out. I realized that if I didn't come out here and if I didn't go through with this, I would not be the only one to suffer the consequences, but James and Garrett would suffer with me. I couldn't let that happen, not when they have been the only two people_ _who were_ _good to me._

 _Of_ _the small gathering of people that had congratulated us, one stood out the most. I remembered him well from the the first time Anthony had taken me underground. The elderly man with the gelled black hair that was obviously colored. He did not appear pleased at all. He did not come to congratulate us as everyone else did._

 _He was angry, displeased, and he could not hide it. I hadn't noticed he was in a wheelchair until now, when he turned and wheeled himself out of the room._

" _Motherfucker,"_ _Edward mumble_ _d_ _under his breath._

" _Where_ _are_ _Rosalie and mom?" Edward asked Anthony._

" _They went_ _back inside the house_ _, Emmett followed after them, hoping he could talk some sense into them," Anthony said. Like every other guest had done today, Anthony grabbed his brother's hand and kissed it. "Congratulations, brother." There was a bitter edge to Anthony's tone._

" _My new sister," he said, kissing me on both cheeks. Anthony ignored everyone else around us and his brother. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me flush_ _against_ _him. With his other hand, he stroked the back of his fingers against my cheek._

" _Che cazzo stai facendo?" Edward whispered harshly. He had a firm hold on my hand, one that became more painful as he tried to pull me out of Anthony's arms._

" _I'm admiring my new sister, brother. Don't worry, she's all yours, you won," Anthony_ _said,_ _but did not look anywhere but at me._

" _Cazzo," Edward cursed._

 _Anthony ignored his brother's annoyance of his presence. He leaned in closer to me. His lips on my ear._

" _I should have been the one to have you," he said._

 _His words caught me off guard. Was he still playing this game with me? I would not show him any emotion, he didn't deserve to know that he had effected me, not just now, but the night I found him drunk and bleeding in Edward's apartment. He showed a side of himself that night that left him vulnerable. I think that was the side of him that scared me the most. I had seen the monster in him, he had hurt me beyond repair. Yet, underneath the his dark layer laid a troubled man, one that was full of regret._

 _ **~DINY~**_

 _There was no celebration after. No dinner, no drinks, nothing. I had never been more relieved. I was thankful that Edward didn't feel the need to put me in that situation and parade me in front of those people anymore than was necessary._

 _It was late at night, we were still_ _at_ _the estate and so was his family, his mother and his sister who I had yet to meet, although they had been sitting at our wedding. I hadn't paid any attention to where or who they were._

 _I was in the same bedroom that I had been kept prisoner in before, the only difference now, Edward was in here with me and not James. Although James was somewhere around here._

 _Edward was laying in bed, still dressed in his suit, his jacket was resting across the foot of the bed, he had removed his tie and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. I was still wearing the wedding dress. I didn't have anything to_ _change_ _into._

 _I stood by the bay window. I had sat by this window so many times before. Being back here, in this room, looking out this same window, it only reminded me further more that I will never be anything more than a prisoner._

 _I was so lost in my own thoughts, that when his arms_ _slipped_ _around my waist I jumped and let out a small yelp._

" _Are you okay?" Edward asked me, smoothing out my hair. How could he ask me such a stupid question? Was I okay? I wanted to laugh in his face, but I_ _didn't think I knew_ _how to do that anymore._

" _I'm fine," I said dryly, avoiding any sort of eye contact with him._

" _I meant what I said, Isabella, I want to make everything better," he said._

" _I thought I was Marie now?"_

" _You are only Isabella for me."_

" _Lucky you," I spat the words out and immediately stepped out of his arms._

" _Isabella," he warned, although there was no threat in his warning._

" _No, you can't make anything better, Edward. Nothing you do will make any of this okay," I said._

" _Dolcezza, please."_

" _You killed me. You put someone in my coffin. You killed me, and for what?"_

" _Please calm down, fiorellina, you're shaking," he said, taking a step towards me._

 _Am I? I hadn't realized I was. I didn't feel like I was panicking again. "Please don't come next to me," I said, holding my hands up in front of me. But he didn't seem to care for my protest, or demand, whatever it was I was doing. He continued his advance towards me until the knock at the door snapped him out of it._

" _Come in," he called out._

" _Hey, I came to let you know, Rose and I are going to head out. She's already got Sofia in the car."_

" _Come here, Emmett." Edward said. "Emmett, this is Marie, my wife."_

 _Emmett held his hand out to me. I looked at it as if it would burn me if I touched it. He gave me a warm smile and took his hand back, he didn't seem bothered that I hadn't taken his offer._

" _It's late, why are you leaving now?" Edward asked._

" _Rose…" Emmett trailed off._

" _That bad?" Edward chuckled._

" _It's better if I take her back home. I'll call you later with...You know," Emmett said._

" _Drive safe," Edward said._

 _As Emmett left the room, Anthony came in. He was followed by a woman, maybe in her fifties. She had dark blonde hair that reached her shoulders and the same green eyes that Edward and Anthony had. This must be their mother, oh no._

" _I couldn't stop her," Anthony said. Now that he was closer to me, I could clearly see the red handprint on his cheek._

" _What the hell have you done?" She yelled, stepping around Anthony and getting right into Edward's face._

" _Mother," Edward said, holding his hands up, just as I had done moments ago to him._

" _Don't you dare open your mouth and feed me lies," she yelled. "How the hell could you do this, Edward? How many times did I ask you, asked the both of you, and you both lied to me. You both looked me in the eye and lied to my face," she continued to yell._

" _Mom, please calm down," Edward said._

" _Don't you dare tell me to calm down. I thought I raised you both better than this. I thought you knew better than this." She pointed in between her two sons. "You have put your family through hell. You have put this child through hell."_

" _Mom," Anthony said, touching her shoulder. His mother turned around and knocked Anthony in the jaw. He stumbled back. He was angry, but he didn't say a thing._

" _And you," she turned to Edward. Marching right up to him, she slapped the taste right out of his mouth._

 _I stared wide eyed as Edward flexed his jaw and wiped the small trail of blood from the corner of his mouth._

" _It's not what you think," Anthony said, trying to calm his mother down. "If you would stop and let me explain…"_

" _What can you explain, Anthony? What is there to explain? You kidnapped her and now she's your brother's wife. What more do you need to explain?" Their mother asked._

 _My eyes were glued on Edward. There was a level of anger present in his features, the likes of which I had never seen before on his face. He looked scary, menacing, more so than his brother when he was in this state. But he held himself back, he didn't act out on his anger._

" _Get out, the both of you," she said._

" _No," Edward said, gripping my hand. "You need to stop, whatever you are thinking of doing mother, don't," he warned._

" _So help me God, Edward. I brought you and your brother into this world and if I have to I will take the both of you out and I will not regret a damn thing. Get out," she said, standing her ground. "NOW!" Her loud pitch voice shook me to the core. I didn't yet know if I had anything to fear from her, and now we were alone together in this room. When had Edward and Anthony left? I hadn't noticed._

" _I am sorry about that. Isabella, correct?" She asked, her voice softer now, gentle._

" _I guess," I said._

" _I'm Esme. I would like to say, it's nice to meet you, but I wish we did not have to ever meet, not under these circumstances at least."_

" _It's nice to meet you, Esme," I said._ _I did_ _not know what else I could or should say to her._

 _She stood staring at me for the longest time. Her gaze made me feel uncomfortable because I didn't know what she was thinking. When I noticed the tears falling down her face, it only confused me further. Without giving it any thought, I reached out and hugged her. She put her arms around me and hugged me back, but her hold was different, it was gentle and loving, like a mother. I bit my lip to hold in_ _a_ _sob as the thought of my own mother entered my mind, a mother who now thought I was dead._

 _Esme pulled away from me and wiped her eyes._

" _Isabella, I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I_ _am for what y_ _ou must be going through," she said. "No, that is stupid of me. There is no apology out there that could make up for what you have been put through, but I feel the need to offer you one."_

" _None of this is your fault, Mrs. Cullen," I said. Truly, what fault did she have in this mess? Did she know prior to now that it was her son's who had arranged my kidnaping? Was she in any way involved? Somehow I doubted that._

" _They are my children, Isabella. I should have known what they were capable of_ _doing_ _. They are every bit_ _like_ _their father, but Carlisle would not have stooped so low as to take his revenge out on you. Please, tell me everything that has happened to you from the beginning," she insisted._

" _Mrs Cullen, please, I can't do that," I said, looking down at my feet. Regardless of what she has said, how could I tell her what her children had done to me? How could I tell her that her son beat me and locked me away in a brothel?_

" _Is it that bad? Did they rape you?" She asked, she held onto my shoulders, looking me in the eyes, maybe to see if I would lie to her. I shook my head. But she didn't look convinced._

" _Please, Isabella," she begged._

 _In this moment, her soft features, her pleading eyes and her warm embrace. I broke down and fell to my knees at her feet. Everything that had happened these past few months all flooded back. Everything that had happened this past week, finding out about my fake death, seeing my parents in the state that they were in, Anthony's moment in the bedroom, Edward, this wedding...I'm his wife. It crashed into me like a semi truck and I rolled under it. I told her everything, everything that she wanted to know and more and it felt so good to get it all out, to tell someone what I had been going through and to have their comfort._

 _When I had calmed down, when all my tears were dried up, when I had nothing left in me. Esme helped me up. She took me to the bathroom and helped me clean myself up. She helped me wash my face and take off the wedding dress. She gave me one of Edward's shirts, apologizing that there was nothing else here. She put me in bed and tucked me in. She stayed with me until I fell asleep, stroking my hair._


	31. Chapter 31

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ANTHONY CULLEN.**_

" _This is bullshit, fucking bullshit," my brother cursed. He had been pacing the hall outside the bedroom for forty odd minutes now._

" _She's our mother," I said. It is not often that I am the voice of reason. It is a position I never thought I would find myself in. It was usually my brother trying to calm me down._

" _She may be our mother, but she knows better," he seethed. Edward had always maintained a certain level of calm in his life, it was very nice for me to see him lose himself the way that he was right now._

" _Calm the fuck down, please, you're making me dizzy just_ _watching_ _you go_ _back and forth here," I said._

" _How the hell are you so calm?" He stressed._

" _What do you want me to do? She's our mother and my little lamb is now...your wife." The words hurt. I don't know what the hell was wrong with me? Why it all bothered me so much, my brother marrying her? She was nothing to me. She meant nothing. Her purpose was served, she was used for revenge. We had gotten a greater revenge on Charles than I thought. Death would have been an easy option for him. Having him in great turmoil, in great suffering for months only to_ _end_ _up taking his only life_ _,_ _it did bring me joy knowing that I played a part in it all._

 _The bedroom door opened gently. Our mother stepped out, closing the door behind her with just as much care._

 _Edward made a play to open it and run inside, but our mother held her position, blocking him from entering._

" _Move," Edward said._

" _She's sleeping. Leave her be," our mother said coldly._

" _What the hell did you say to her?"_

" _Don't you dare speak to me that way," our mother said, trying to keep her voice calm. "The both of you, how could you. Your father and I, we taught you better than that." She could not hide the hurt and the anger any longer. "Let's go downstairs. I do not want to wake that poor girl up."_

" _I am not leaving her up here by herself," my brother said._

" _I'll send James up," I said, taking out my phone and sending him a text. Not two minutes went by and James was up here. "Don't leave her alone."_

 _He nodded, entering the bedroom quietly._

 _My brother was reluctant to leave his new wife up here in their bedroom alone with another man on his wedding night, but our mother would not take no for an answer. She was angry, no, angry was not the right word. We had seen our mother angry many times, we had seen her livid many times. Right now, she had a deadly calm about her. Her body was relaxed, but her face gave her true feelings away._

 _We followed after her, downstairs and into the main living area where Garrett was seated. Although when he saw the three of us enter, he stood up and took his leave._

 _Our mother stood in the middle of the room. Her chest heaved up and down as she rubbed her fingers over her temple. My brother and I didn't say a word, we did not look at each other._

" _You are both my children and I love you, but what the two of you have done, is both inexcusable and unforgivable," she said._

" _Mama," I said. I had always been the one to play our mother and she may not admit it, but she always had a soft spot for me over my brother and sister._

" _Don't," she warned._

' _It is not what you think," I tried again._

" _Do not stand there and lie to me, Anthony. I am not an idiot, do not treat me like one," she said calmly. My brother the entire time remained motionless. His face void of any emotions._

" _I will not stand here and argue with the two of you. I have nothing to say to either of you. I want one of you to make an appoint_ _ment_ _with your father for me, and I do not want you telling him that I am coming."_

" _You know he won't see you there. You cannot go against his wishes," Edward said._

" _I don't really care what he wants. Your father's wishes can be damned. You will make the booking as soon as possible or else," she warned. With that, she left my brother and_ _me_ _speechless._

" _You go with her," my brother said._

" _Why, brother? Are you afraid to face our father after you married_ _a_ _traitor's daughter instead of the good Italian wife you were given?" I joked. But my brother wasn't in the mood for jokes. He picked up the nearest object to him and threw it against the wall._

" _All of this is your fault," he spat._

" _How the fuck is this my fault?" I shot back._

' _You brought her into all of this. You should have let me handle things. It was not your place to take revenge against Charles without asking me first."_

" _I did what you didn't have the balls to do," I said getting in his face. We stood nose to nose, neither of us willing to back down. "You are as much to blame as me. You sat back and watched me do those things to her, you did nothing to stop me. You are no better than me, you are worse. You want to blame someone brother, blame yourself," I spat._

 _His jaw flexed, his fists tightened at his side. I was waiting for it, waiting for him to attack me. Unlike last time, this time I expected it and I would be prepared._

 _He's a hypocrite. I take responsibility for the part I played in all of this. But him, he was aware of everything that was going on and he sat back and let it happen. Now that he has sprouted some sort of feelings for the little lamb, he thinks he can only blame me?_

 _He is delusional if he thinks she will accept him. She is too afraid to refuse. Hell, we shouldn't be here today because she should still be with Victoria, or dead._

" _I am going to fucking kill you," he said slowly. I stepped away from him, with a smile on my face I held my arms out wide._

" _Take your best shot, brother."_

 _ **~DINY~**_

" _What the hell are you doing here? Anthony, what were you thinking?" My father said, his anger showing. His face was red and his eyes narrowed. I shrugged._

" _Carlisle," my mother said, jumping into his arms. They held onto each other for the longest time. There was nothing I could do beside_ _s_ _stand back and watch._

" _What are you doing here?" my father asked._

" _I needed to see you," my mother said, regaining her composure now._

" _What's going on?" Dad asked, looking up at me._

" _You do not talk with him Carlisle, you talk with me," my mother warned him. "Are you aware of your son's marriage last weekend? Are you aware that your son did not marry Marcello's daughter like you intended?"_

" _Esme," my father said, looking at her with concern._

" _Did you know what your children have done?" She asked._

" _Esme…"_

" _Answer the question, Carlisle," my mother said, raising her voice._

" _Esme, this is not your place," my father tried. He knew his wife was a stubborn woman and when she wanted something, she would get it._

" _Did you or did you not know that your sons were responsible for kidnapping Charles Swan's daughter?"_

 _My father looked at me with what I can only describe as murder in his eyes. He had told me to kill Isabella, but I hadn't...Couldn't. I should have done it, it would have been for the best._

" _Yes, I knew," my father said._

 _My mother's ha_ _n_ _d made contact with his face. The force of the slap echoed through the small courtyard. He stood there, holding onto his face. He took a moment to recover from the shock. He closed his eyes and cracked his neck. I jumped up from the bench and stood behind my mother, placing my hands on her shoulder, ready to move her out of the way at any second._

 _My father would never hurt his wife but, prison does things to a person and the only time I had seen him with that look in his eye,_ _was_ _when he was dealing with an enemy._

" _How could you? How could you agree to something like that? Do you know what they have done to that poor child?"_

" _I am locked away in here, Esme, because of her father, because he betrayed me, betrayed us. What the fuck did you want me to do while I am stuck in here?"_

" _He betrayed you because of your own stupidity, because I told you not to trust him, but you didn't listen to me. He betrayed you, Carlisle, Charles did, not his daughter, not a child," my mother said, pushing her finger in my father's chest._

" _There was nothing I could have done. Charles got what he deserved, Esme, although I did not agree with what our boys have done. They should have killed_ _her_ _._

 _Our son should not have married her," he stressed, running his hands through his hair._

" _I think your son is in love with her," my mother said. "And I cannot allow him to be with her. They abused her, your sons, our children, put her in a...a brothel, Carlisle," she cried. "She is a child, an innocent girl who was thrown into this mess, because you made a mistake."_

" _Esme, please," my father begged._

" _I don't know if I can forgive you for this, Carlisle. I just don't know."_

 _My_ _father grabbed onto my mother's shoulders and lowered his face right to hers._

" _You are my wife and I love you, Esme, I love you so much. But you have overstepped your boundaries here. You need to stop this now, keep your mouth shut."_

" _Is that what you think, husband, that I would rat my own children out?" My mother said, pushing him away._

" _They are my children, good or bad and I love them. No matter what they deserve, I will not do something like that to my son's and I cannot believe you would imply that."_

" _That is not what I meant," he said._

" _Do not make me out to be a fool, Carlisle, I am not."_

" _Mr. Cullen, time," a guard opened the door to the courtyard to inform my father his time was up._

" _My love," he said, looking at my mother and taking her into his arms. "You have no idea how good it was to see you,_ _to_ _touch you again after so long. I've missed you so much."_

" _I've missed you too, Carlisle," my mother said, leaning into his touch._

" _You do what you think is best," he told her, kissing the top of her head._

 _I hugged my father goodbye, it had been weeks since I had last seen him. Since my arrest in fact._

" _Tell your brother, he cannot avoid me forever. I expect to see him soon or else," he said, low enough_ _so_ _my mother would not hear._

" _You should have done what I had said ma_ _n_ _y months ago and none of this would have happened."_

" _I think things turned out well, don't you think? Did you not hear about Charles suicide?" I smirked._

" _You made a stupid mistake, both you and your brother."_

" _I made the right decision," I said, walking away._


	32. Chapter 32

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN.**_

" _Dolcezza, come on," I said. "You cannot stay in here forever. It's been weeks now, please."_

" _I'm fine right here," she said._

 _She had been locked up in this room since our wedding and that was...Two weeks ago._

 _My mother had moved into the estate, even though I insisted her presence wasn't needed,_ _but of course she didn't listen._ _She said she was here for Isabella and Isabella only. But even my mother couldn't coax her out of this room. She only spoke to us when needed, but even_ _then_ _she only answered with simple words. Yes and No, she seemed to favor those the most._

" _Enough with this bullshit," I yelled, causing her to flinch and pull the covers around herself tighter._

" _Fuck," I cursed, running my fingers through my hair, resisting the urge to pull it all out._

 _I sat on the edge of the bed beside her, and pulled the covers off_ _of_ _her face. She was shaking and I cursed myself even more for being the one she feared now._

" _I'm sorry," I said softly, pushing the hair out of her face. "Please, bambolina. You are not a prisoner here. Please come out of this room, this isn't healthy."_

 _She ignored me and turned on her other side, putting her back towards me. I have done everything I can, I don't know what else I can do? She refuses to let anyone in._

 _I sighed. I give up. I said I wanted to help fix this,_ _fix_ _her, I said I would, but I can't if she's not willing to give me a little help._

 _I almost made it out the door, when the sound of her soft muffled voice stopped me._

" _You're wrong," she said._

" _What am I wrong about, dolcezza?"_

" _I am a prisoner here."_

" _No you are not," I said, sitting back down on the bed beside her. "Please look at me."_

" _I don't want to look at you," she protested._

 _I climbed over her on the bed with my shoes still on, settling myself on the other side facing her. I trapped her face with my hand, holding her in place gently. I am not leaving this room without her today._

" _Open your eyes," I said. I almost regretted my request when she looked at me with watery red eyes._

" _You are not a prisoner here, do you understand me?"_

" _Yes I am," she said, truly believing her words. "Yes, I can leave this room. Maybe I might be allowed to go outside."_

" _Of course you are allowed to go outside."_

" _And do what? Walk around this house? Spin around in a circle over and over? I am_ _a_ _prisoner here, Edward. The only difference_ _is that_ _now, you are my husband and I am not your brother's toy," she said, attempting to turn her back to me. But I didn't let her move._

" _It's a Saturday morning, fiorellina." I smiled at her. I may regret what I am about to offer, if she accepts. It is still_ _in the_ _early days and there is still a chance she may be recognized._

" _What did you usually do on a Saturday morning?" I asked._

" _What?" She frowned her brow_ _s_ _. She gave me that guarded look she always had as if she was trying to figure out if I were joking or trying to trap her into something._

" _Saturday morning. What did you usually do?" I asked again._

" _Why do you care?"_

" _I want to know more about you. I want to know what makes you happy so I can do more of it," I said._

" _I don't know what makes Marie happy," she said, trying to wriggle_ _out_ _of my arms._

" _Fuck Marie. What makes you happy, Isabella?"_

" _Isabella is dead," she said in a cold tone that gripped me in a painful way. Her tone may have been cold, but the pain of her words rang out loud and clear._

" _Come on, get up. Change your clothes, we are going out," I said, climbing off of the bed, ignoring the look she was giving me. When she made no move to get up off of the bed, I went into the wardrobe and picked out a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of converse sneakers. I grabbed a pair of socks, underwear and a bra._

 _I came back out and put them on the end of the bed._

" _Go into the bathroom, go wash yourself up and get dressed," I said._

" _Why?" She questioned._

" _Now, dolcezza," I said, firmly. "Or I will pick you up and throw you in the bathroom myself."_

 _She bit the inside of her cheek, staring between me and clothes on the bed. She debated for a few moments before she gave into my request. She picked the clothes up off of the bed and headed to the bathroom._

" _Ten minutes, fiorellina, or I'm coming in there," I called out._

 _I debated with myself the entire time she was in the bathroom if this was a good idea or not. Of course it wasn't a good idea, it was terrible, stupid of me even. There is a big chance someone might recognize her face. I don't think she will ever know the extent of the search that was put out for her. Her face had been everywhere on the East Coast, it even reached the Canadian borders. But now, she was supposed to be dead. It had been over a month since the body had been found, and almost three weeks from the funeral. Her face hadn't been in the media since then. Flyers had been removed and the newspapers didn't print about it anymore. Of course, they would still look for her killer, but her case would be nothing more than an unsolved mystery._

 _ **~DINY~**_

" _Where are we going?" She asked. It was only her and I alone in the car. I had given James the day off and my mother...well, there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop me from leaving with my own wife._

" _We are going into town," I said, grabbing her hand and intertwining our fingers together. I brought our hands up to my mouth and kissed the tips of her fingers. I didn't let go of her hand after that._

 _She started laughing, it was a nice sound to hear from her after weeks of silence. But it was an odd laugh, there was no humor in it._

" _What's the matter?" I asked._

" _Why are you doing this? Why are you torturing me?" She sighed, forcing her hand out of mine, she stared out the side window._

 _I chose to ignore her words. Of course she didn't believe me, she had every reason in the world not too. I focused my attention on the road. I would let her think whatever it was she wanted the think for now. I could not wait to see her face when we reached our destination._

 _Lake Placid was about an hour drive from the estate. It was a busy tourist area. At this time of year, the busy tourist season hadn't picked up yet so the town would not be overcrowded._

 _I parked the car across the road from the Big Mountain Deli & Creperie on Main Street. It was the only place I knew __of_ _here in town that made decent coffee and food._

 _Isabella hadn't made a single sound or move for that matter, she continued staring out the window. I think she was so far gone into her thoughts that she didn't even realize the car had come to a stop or where we were._

 _I opened her door and held my hand out towards her, hoping she would take it. She stared at my hand as if it were made of fire. She made no_ _move_ _to take it or to get out of the car._

 _I didn't think she would be this difficult. I thought she would be happy, but when I looked down at her, she was crying._

 _Cursing to myself, I kneeled down next to the open door._

" _What's wrong, dolcezza?" I asked, wiping a stray tear away from her face._

" _Why did you bring me here?" She asked._

" _I thought you might like a day out," I said._

" _This is very public, Edward," she_ _stresses_ _, looking out the front window onto the busy street._

" _I want to show you that you are not a prisoner. That deli across the road, has the best food in town. I know you're hungry because you haven't had anything to eat since lunchtime yesterday," I said._

" _Aren't you worried someone might see me? Aren't you worried I'll run or scream for help?"_

" _Will you?" I asked._ _I_ _cocked my head to one side, trying to get a better look at her face, hoping I could get some understanding of what was going on in her head at this moment. "I'm trusting you here, fiorellina and I want you to be able to trust me. This is the only thing I can think of."_

 _She eventually climbed out of the car after I gave her my sunglasses. She didn't look like the same girl whose face had been all over the media. She looked completely different_ _from_ _the first time I had seen her. She looked older_ _than_ _the nineteen years she was now, stressed, even_ _tired_ _._

 _I held onto her hand firmly as we crossed the street. We went into the Deli, we ordered our food. It was Isabella who had chosen our seats, in the back of the deli almost isolated from the other diners, yet close to the window and insight of the passers by outside._

" _Stop fidgeting. Relax," I said. Her whole body was rigid, and she had torn apart the paper napkins on the table._

" _Sorry," she mumbled._

" _What's going on through your mind right now?" I asked, covering her hands with my own, stopping her from destroying the napkins any further. She swallowed nervously, shaking her head._

" _Tell me," I insisted. "No matter how bad it is, I want to know."_

" _I'm thinking...If...If I were to run right now with all these people around, would you stop me? Would you kill me?" She said quietly._

 _If she ran away from me now, I don't think I would have another choice but to kill her, but that thought alone_ _made my stomach roll. The thought of her dead, it wasn't something I could think about without becoming physically sick. I felt a strong connection to her, a pull, something that made me want to protect her, cherish her even. As messed up as that sounds, and I wondered if this is what love feels like? Do I love her? I don't know._

" _I told you, dolcezza, I am trusting you here. But if you were to do something stupid, I may not have a choice," I said._

" _So you would kill me," she said, matter of factly._

" _No," I admitted._

" _You would hit me?"_

" _Of course not."_

" _Then?" She questioned._

" _I don't know what I would do, fiorellina. I told you, I am trusting you here. I wanted to show you that you are not a prisoner. I want you to believe that."_

" _It's hard to believe, Edward. I was a missing person and now I'm a dead person. Yes, we are in public now, but look at me, I am sitting with my back to everyone in here and you are doing your best to hide my face," she said. Was I?_

" _Yes, you are. No matter what, Edward, I will always be a prisoner because I will never have my own freedom. I will never be able to go somewhere by myself. Christ, I won't ever be able to have my own phone, make my own friends or any of the other stuff you take for granted," she said._

" _Dolcezza…" I squeezed her hands tightly. The pain in her voice and in her eyes broke me apart because she was right._

" _Thank you for bringing me here, but it was a slap in the face. I would like to go now."_

" _You need to eat first," I said, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat._

" _I am not hungry, Edward. Please, I don't want to be here."_


	33. Chapter 33

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **ANTHONY CULLEN.**_

 _I had neglected to do this for a long time. Maybe because for the longest time I hadn't felt the need to, or maybe it was because I'm afraid of the pain it will bring._

 _I never got to say goodbye._

 _I never attended her funeral._

 _I have never laid a flower on her grave._

 _All these years, I have pushed every thought of her out of my mind. I closed off all the memories we had made together, the good, the bad, in a tight vault never wanting to reopen it again._

 _There was something about this day that made me think of her. I woke up hungover in the arms of a woman whose name I cannot remember. Last night, she reminded me of her, the same eyes, the same hair, the same soft features._

 _I gripped the steering wheel impossibly tight, wondering if I should do this, or if I should simply drive off._

 _But a part of me knew that after all these years, I needed to do this. I needed this closure._

 _ **Here rests Katherine Louise Cullen**_

 _ **Beloved daughter and wife.**_

 _The sight looked as if no one had been here in a long time. Reading those words brought me to my knees._

 _I pushed aside the dried leaves and dirt that had gathered around the bottom_ _of the stone, and lay down the_ _white tulips down. She loved tulips, I'll always remember that._

 _I didn't...I couldn't breath. I felt as if there was some pressure, some other force holding me down. By the time I realized what it was, it was too late to stop it, to stop myself._

 _I let the sobs escape my mouth and_ _let_ _the tears fall_ _from my eyes_ _._

" _Why? Why did you do it?" I asked, staring at her grave. "What did you want that I hadn't already given you?"_

 _I had given her everything. I had given her every material thing she had asked and didn't ask for. I had given her every part of me, mind, body and soul, she held it all._

" _Why wasn't it enough for you? What did he offer you that I didn't? I loved you, Kate, I love you so fucking much that you ripped me apart. I have nothing left, Kate, nothing. You took that part of me with you. I loved you," I said, letting myself sob freely for the first time since that day. Everything that I had bottled up for years, came pouring out now. I didn't care who was around me, I didn't care who could see me._

" _I hope...I wanted everything with you. I can't love anyone else because I loved you so much." I closed my eyes. I saw her before me. The first time I had laid eyes on her, our wedding day, the way she looked_ _at_ _that moment when she said I do. Her dead body lying before me with a bullet hole in her head. She looked right at me. She died with tears in her eyes. That image will stay with me until the day I die, it may even haunt me in my death._

" _I hope you're happy where you are now. I hope you have found peace." I leaned over and kissed her cold headstone. Closing my eyes, I felt at peace too. I felt as if a dead weight had been lifted_ _from_ _me._

" _Goodbye, Kate."_

 _ **~DINY~**_

 _Pulling up to the estate, the first thing I noticed was Isabella and Sofia sitting outside on the lawn on a picnic blanket. No one else was around, not Garrett, not James, not even my brother or mother, or sister for that matter._

 _I sat in my car and watched the two interact. She was smiling, not a forced smile like I had seen before. No, this one was real and it reached her eyes. She laughed at something my niece had told her._

 _I had never seen Isabella this happy. She looked different with that bright smile, she looked…._

 _I stopped my staring and got out of the car. Walking over to them sitting on the blanket. The closer I got to them, the more I looked around, there really wasn't anyone watching them, watching her._

 _Both of them hadn't noticed my presence yet. I was close enough to hear what my very insightful niece was saying to Isabella._

" _I like you," Sofia said._

" _I like you too." The little lamb smiled at her._

" _I think my Uncle Edward loves you. Do you love my Uncle Edward?"_

" _Umm...I…"_

" _And he's not bad to look at," Sofia added._

" _Wow," Isabella laughed, staring at my niece in disbelief._

" _Hey, you little brat, is that any way to talk?" I said, finally making my presence known. It didn't go unnoticed that Isabella tensed up and the smile on her face vanished when she heard my voice._

" _Anthony," Sofia said, running up to me wrapping her arms around me. I held my arms up hoping she'd let go of me soon. She knew I didn't hug her, and yet she still insisted_ _on giving me one_ _every chance she got._

 _The little brat finally let go of me, but she grabbed onto my shirt and pulled me along to the picnic blanket._

" _Sit down," the little brat demanded._

 _I sat close to Isabella. "Hi," I said, leaning over I placed a small kiss on her cheek._

" _Hey," Sofia shouted. "You can't kiss her, she's Uncle Edward's wife."_

" _Where is everyone?" I asked._

 _Sofia shrugged, turning away from us to rearrange her toys, dolls, whatever the hell those things were._

" _Do you know?" I asked, the little lamb._

" _Inside, I think," she said, avoiding my gaze._

" _Where's Garrett or James?"_

" _Um... James is somewhere inside and I don't know where Garrett is, he left."_

" _Uncle Anthony, go away, me and Marie_ _were having_ _fun," my niece said._

" _You're a brat," I said._

" _But you love me," she sang._

 _I left the two of_ _them_ _there and went in search of my brother or anyone for that matter. What the hell were they thinking leaving Sofia with Isabella alone?_

 _I could hear voices in the kitchen. My sister's was the loudest._

" _Aro had access to everything. He knew where to look," Rosalie said._

" _Where's the money now?" Emmett asked._

" _Sitting there. It's been frozen. No one can touch it until the lift has been taken off, and the only one that can take the lift off the account is the courts, and they won't do that until we can prove the setup."_

" _Where's Aro now?" Emmett asked._

" _He hasn't been seen or heard from since the wedding," my brother said._

" _What the hell is going on?" I asked._

" _What are you doing here?" My sister asked._

" _What has Aro done?"_

" _Nothing for you to worry about," she said._

" _Don't try my fucking patience, sister. What has Aro done?" I had never liked my godfather not even as a small child._

" _Rosalie thinks Aro may have helped Charles with dad's case," my brother said._

" _Motherfucking asshole. I shouldn't have crippled him, I should have fucking killed him," I yelled. "This is what we were talking about. We said he was up to something," I said to my brother._

" _We can't put the blame on him just yet," our sister said._

" _The fuck we can't. He had every reason to put dad away. He wants that piss ass son of his in the family."_

" _But what was the point?" My sister asked. "Even_ _if_ _he helped put dad away, why? It didn't accomplish anything. He can't make Caius apart of the family, there is still the two of you. Edward took over for dad."_

" _Unless he got rid of us. But then there is you and Emmett," I said._

" _How the fuck did I not see this?" My brother mumbled, drumming his fingers against the bench top._

" _See what?" Emmett asked._

" _It was Aro's idea to bring Marcello's daughter here for me to marry. When Aro found out that wasn't the plan anymore, he was strange about it. He insisted, demanded that I marry Heidi. Of course...Fuck how did I not see this," Edward rambled on, running his hands through his hair._

" _Heidi was going to whack you on your wedding night," I said._

" _Yes, she was," he said._

" _Where is that fucker?" Emmett asked._

" _We can't find him, or Caius or Tanya," Edward said. "I've have people watching his place and office, Caius's as well."_

" _What do we do now?" Rosalie asked._

" _Can you make a case from that?" Emmett asked her._

" _I can take this to court, but in order to do that, I need access to his office computers. The documents that I have were all on file, but there are bits and pieces missing. He has to have them somewhere," Rose said._

" _I can get you into his office," Emmett said, rubbing his hands together._

" _No," Edward said. "Call Jacob, let him go in. Let it look like a raid. We are not going anywhere he might be, not until we know what his next move is and who's working with him."_

" _We have to get back," Rosalie said, standing up, putting all the papers back into the files. "Emmett, go and get Sofia."_

" _Sofia is outside with Isabella," I said, eyeing my brother. "How the fuck could you leave her outside without someone watching her?" I questioned._

" _That's not your business," my brother said._

" _What if she runs? What did you idiots think a five year old could stop her?" I stressed. It wasn't_ _like_ _my brother to be this careless with detail. In fact, I was surprised to see Rosalie here. She had made her feelings very clear after the wedding. She said she didn't want any part of this. She said she couldn't bare to look at Edward or me after she found out the truth, that we had been lying to her the whole time._

" _It's not your business, Anthony," my brother yelled._

" _Oh, my apologies brother, I've forgotten, she's your wife now. By the way, have you been to see dad?"_

" _Get the fuck out of here, now."_

" _Sure, maybe I'll just take Isabella with me on the way out." I smirked._

 _Edward jumped over the bench top. He lunged at me, tackling me down to the ground._

" _You put your fucking hands on her and I will end you," he said through gritted teeth._

" _See Marie," Sofia said. She was in Isabella's arms as she walked into the kitchen, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw us on the floor._

" _Boys are so stupid," Sofia stressed._

" _Yes, they are, that's why you are never going to have a boyfriend," Emmett said, taking Sofia from Isabella._

" _I'll...Um...I'll just go upstairs," the little lamb said, running out of the room._

" _Let's go," our_ _sister_ _said, stepping over us. "Let these two idiots kill each_ _other_ _."_


	34. Chapter 34

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN.**_

 _We couldn't stay at the estate forever, even though it was_ _a_ _better place for Isabella to be right now, I couldn't stay there any longer. I had business in the city to attend, and I wasn't going to leave my wife upstate alone, with another man._

 _Isabella...She's gotten better at being around me. After the failed day out, I made it a habit. Every day I took her out to town, just me and her. By the third day she had relaxed enough to enjoy herself._

 _She was almost euphoric as we walked hand in hand down the street. She had a smile on her face, not a forced one, a real one. It was the first time I had see_ _n_ _her smile, and I would do anything to keep that smile on her face._

 _She relaxed and I'll admit I did as well when she realized, no one recognized her. No one was looking_ _at_ _us, no one paid us any attention as we walked around. We walked around stores, bars, down by the lake, no one cared._

 _It was to be expected. The more time that went by, the more people would forget. After Charles's suicide, there was nothing mentioned_ _about_ _the case in the news anymore. It was typical, out of sight, out of mind. But that had been Lake Placid, we weren't bumping shoulders with people on the street. The city was different. She had lived here her whole life, she had friends, family around. Letting her go out in Manhattan, wouldn't be the same, not when there was a risk of someone recognizing her. It wouldn't be a permanent thing,_ _it was just that_ _more time needed to go by until she could have a somewhat normal life._

 _I have refused to go and see my father even though he has insisted, no, demanded I see him. I knew what he wanted. I had nothing to say to him, not now at least. We had bigger problems and one of those was Aro who, along with his son and daughter in law, have disappeared together._

 _Jacob had agreed to stage a raid, but as it turns out, Jacob did it the legal way. The FBI_ _have_ _been looking into some of Aro's finances. Turns out Aro is connected to a fraud case they have been working on. Jacob got Rosalie all the copies and files from dad's case before anyone had a chance to look at them. But luck wasn't on our side. What my sister needed wasn't there. Rosalie is going out of her mind trying to put all the missing pieces together, and I am going out of my mind trying to track the bastard down._

 _I'll admit, my brother had been a bigger help than I first thought. I had expected him to track Aro down without informing me and killing him himself, but he was doing this my way. The good thing about this, all his attention and efforts were focused on tracking down Aro and Caius, that he had no time to think of Isabella. He hadn't even set foot in my apartment to see her since we have been back in the city._

 _I'm not blind and I'm not stupid. I know my brother has a sort of sick infatuation with her, one that I thought would subside after our marriage, but Anthony isn't fazed that he is drawn to a married woman, much less that_ _the_ _married woman is also his sister in law._

 _Sitting down at the bar, it was only Anthony, Emmett and I in here. It was midday and wasn't set to open for another few hours._

 _Emmett headed to the door and unlocked it. My sister waltzed inside with a huge grin on her face and a massive file in her hand._

" _What the fuck are you smiling about?" Anthony asked. His sour mood hadn't improved over the past days, in fact, it had only gotten worse. The only thing preventing me from kicking his ass right now_ _was that_ _he was actually being helpful._

" _I found something interesting_ _while going_ _through Aro's files," she said._

" _I thought you said there was nothing on his computer?" I asked._

" _It wasn't on his computer. Detective Black handed me over a USB they thought was useful to them, as it turns out, it was very useful to us."_

" _Spit it out already Rose, we don't have all fucking day to listen to you go on," Anthony said._

 _Our sister gave our brother a murderous glare, a glare that only my mother could master._

" _I went to see the new DA today," she said._

" _Why would you do that?" Emmett asked._

" _Aro passed information to Charles, certain deals and trades. When Charles gave the all clear for the NYPD to storm dad's business. A warrant was never issued for the search or for dad's arrest."_

" _Holy shit," Anthony said, closing his laptop. "What the hell are we waiting for. Let's go and get him out."_

" _It's not that easy, Anthony, I still have to take this to court."_

" _But it's enough evidence to get him out?"_

" _This is just for one thing, Anthony," Rosalie stressed. "There is still the issue with the accounts."_

" _Have you told dad?" I asked._

" _No, I was hoping you would come with me," my sister said._

" _Why?"_

" _You know why, Edward. You can't avoid dad forever."_

 _My sister was right, I couldn't avoid our father forever. Damn it, even locked away he still managed to get under my skin and call the shots. Not that he has ever stopped. Being locked away didn't do much damage to his control. People still followed his order, and he was still firing them from his prison cell. The only reason I'm in_ _the_ _role I'm in_ _is that_ _you can't have a Don calling the shots behind bars. He calls the shots and I follow the order, all but one that is._

 _We, my brother or myself, he didn't care who. We were supposed to kill Isabella, we were supposed to get rid of her, he had been very clear on that, she needed to disappear._

 _I made Isabella Swan disappear, just not in the way my father had wanted._

 _Of course, my father never banked that Marcello's daughter was planning on killing me. To be honest, I'm not sure Marcello knew himself. But I couldn't take that chance, not with Aro missing. Marcello and his wife, along with Heidi's younger sister had to go. I didn't leave the job to our family in Sicilia, no, I sent my own people there to make sure the job was properly done. It was fortunate that there was construction and maintenance being done along the Parco Fondo Badia in Palermo. It is there that Marcello and his family rested, under tons of concrete._

 _Our father had been informed about Aro's plan weeks ago, since we had figured it out. My brother told me that our father had been relatively calm about the news._

 _He wants Aro, but he also demanded that this information s_ _t_ _ays between us only, no other members on the outside were to know._

" _Don't be a princess about this, Edward. You and Anthony made a mess of all of this. You weren't supposed to marry that girl, you were supposed to kill her, now you need to face the music," my sister said._

 _~DINY~_

" _I can do this, dad," my sister said._

" _I didn't want you involved in any of this. I told you to stay out of it," our_ _father_ _said, pacing the floor in the warden's office._

" _If you would have let_ _me_ _on your legal team from the start, you wouldn't be here now," my sister fired back._

" _Watch your tone with me," dad warned her._

" _Shut up, dad. You should have trusted me to begin with. You shouldn't have pushed me aside. Aro would have never been able to pull this off if I had been on the team. You wouldn't be here right now and that poor girl wouldn't…"_

" _Shut up, Rosalie," I said._

" _Why? Because you know I'm right?"_

" _Rosalie, stop. Thank you. You have always been too smart for your own good. I should have trusted in you and I am sorry. But you know I have tried to keep you out of my affairs your whole life," our father said._

" _We should go," I said, thankful that the hour we were given was almost up and Rosalie had occupied most of that time informing our father of her findings._

" _Rosalie, wait outside, I want to speak with Edward for a moment alone." Rosalie hugged our father and kissed his cheek before she took her leave, leaving me alone to face the devil._

 _My father pulled me out of my seat and embraced me in a tight hug. To an outsider, it would appear comforting, nothing more than a father who had not seen his son in a long time. But the death grip he had on me. He was strong for a man of fifty-five._

" _I told you, both you and Anthony to kill the girl and what do you do," he hissed in my ear. "You fucked up, mio figlio."_

" _It's too late now," I said. His hold was tight, cutting off my air supply. But I kept my calm and didn't struggle. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he was slowly smothering me to death._

" _Are you in love with her? Is that why you disobeyed me?" He asked. I had not expected him to come right out and ask me that. It was a question I had found myself pondering over many times._

 _I had no problem taking someone's life, man or woman, yet with Isabella, I couldn't even put the idea into my head. The thought of her dead made me sick, it made my chest hurt and my stomach churn. I think in a messed up way, I did love her, everything about her._

" _You are, aren't you?" My father chuckled. He let go of me, I took a moment to catch my breath and steady myself._

" _I...I don't even know what to say, Edward. She should_ _never_ _have made contact with any of you."_

" _I had a different plan in mind for Charles, but Anthony took her before…"_

" _Let me ask you one thing, Edward, since you are in love with her," my father said, no humor evident in his tone or on his face._

" _What are you going to do with her now?"_

" _What do you mean, what am I going to do with her now?" I asked._

" _You can never take her out in the city. She cannot be seen in public, ever."_

" _I've thought of that. I know that," I said, slapping my hands over my face. "It's messed up, I know. But I've covered every single step. Now it's just a matter of time, a year, maybe two, and no one will recognize her. She only had a few friends. Only her mother's alive, and from the information I've gathered, she plans on moving to Pennsylvania as soon as the house is sold."_

" _You really have thought this through, haven't you," he said. It wasn't a question. I think he was more stunned that I had put all this effort into one person. What I didn't expect, was my father's next move. He knocked me down on my ass, climbed over me and punched me square in the jaw. I could taste the blood in my mouth. I spat it out on his jumpsuit._

" _What the fuck," I said, shoving him off of me._

" _You deserved that, you deserve a lot worse. That was from your mother, I haven't even started on you yet," he said._

 _He turned to leave the room, but stopped midway and_ _then_ _came back towards me. His foot collided with my stomach. He crouched down, getting in my face, grabbing onto my jaw._

" _You have really hurt your mother. She told me everything you and your brother have done to that girl, the one you apparently love. Fix this or so help me God, figlio, I will fix you," he warned._


	35. Chapter 35

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **MARIE CULLEN (ISABELLA)**_

 _I had never taken the time to look at him, to really look at him._

 _It was the early hours of the morning. The sun wasn't up yet, and for some reason I hadn't been able to sleep at all last night. I felt as if all my senses were on high alert. I had this dread in the pit of my stomach, as if something bad was about to happen. The thought of that alone made me want to laugh. What could be worse than what had already happened?_

 _Edward was lying on his side facing me. His gentle snores filled the silence in the room. A light glow from the bright lights of the city shone through the open window._

 _Watching Edward sleep was fascinating at best. He was deep in sleep and yet he wasn't._

 _It was as if even in his sleep, he was ready to jump out of bed and attack at the slightest noise._

" _Why are you watching me so closely?" He mumbled, still keeping his eyes shut._

" _I'm not."_

" _I can feel your eyes on me, dolcezza."_

" _You must be dreaming," I said._

 _He mumbled some incoherent sentence. Nothing but a jumble of words came out of his mouth as he wiped away at his eyes. He reached out for me and pulled me close to him. He was naked under these sheets. I had gotten up after he fell asleep last night and dressed myself. It was pretty stupid, the man has seen me naked, he had done things to me that shouldn't make me shy around him any longer. But still the thought of_ _lying_ _in bed next to him, sleeping next to him naked, it was an intimacy that we didn't have, well, I didn't think we had. Edward must have thought otherwise. Maybe it was my recent behavior that led him to believe I was okay with all of this._

 _Edward had given me a small amount of freedom. We had been out together. He had let me out in public even though that there may have been the risk of someone recognizing me. I guess that had been his way of trying to convince me that I was no longer a prisoner. No matter what he did, and no matter what he said, I knew that couldn't be further from the truth. I was still very much a prisoner, a captive. I think he was trying to convince himself with his actions. But if that was the case, then Edward was a very stupid man._

" _No, I don't think I am, gattina," he said, rubbing the tips of his fingers down my face and my neck._

 _He shifted his body closer to mine and brought our lips together. He was always gentle, always careful, it made my head spin. He had always given me a choice to say no, to pull away. So why was it that I couldn't do it?_

 _I hated him, I know I did. But it had become an accepting hate. He had changed these past weeks, he was different. It was almost as if he were walking on broken glass around me. The way he touched me, the way he spoke, the words he chose. Everything was planned to perfection. I thought I had Edward figured out at one point, but now I'm not so sure. Was there really a monster hiding inside him?_

 _He was a dangerous man, yes, but was he dangerous to me?_

 _He hadn't hurt me, not like his brother had. Edward hadn't caused me any physical harm only emotional damage._

 _Maybe that was it, that was why I hated him so much. Edward was playing with my mind, with my emotions. He had worked his way deep inside my mind and made me question everything I thought I felt. His mother didn't help things either. She_ _is a_ _beautiful woman, but I didn't know what, if anything, she wanted from me. She didn't agree with what her children had done. She had been so angry with Edward, she had gone out of her way to ignore him for a whole week back at the estate. But Esme didn't want me to hate her son either, she had made that very clear. She wanted us to get along, she wanted a family._

 _In her mind, I think she had come to the same conclusion that I had. I was trapped here, I knew that, I knew my only escape would be death, and she knew it t_ _o_ _o._

 _Maybe it was her way of helping_ _me_ _cope? Maybe she was trying to make me feel more comfortable about my new role in her family, even though it was a role I didn't want._

" _What's wrong?" Edward asked._

" _Nothing," I said, too quickly._

 _He sighed,_ _sounding_ _almost defeated. I think he himself had gotten tired of trying with me. He was tired of me being emotionally unavailable._

" _Please, Isabella, tell me," he insisted._

" _Nothing_ _is_ _wrong. Why do you always think there is?"_

 _I climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. There was still no lock on the door, he still didn't trust me that much. Funny, he trusted me enough to be out in public, but he can't trust me with a lock. So much for freedom._

 _He didn't come after me in the bathroom, thank God. I showered and slipped on the bathrobe. When I went back into the bedroom, he was no longer there._

 _Edward had left. By the time I had dressed myself and made it out of the bedroom. I was thankful he had left. Edward's behavior, it was becoming suffocating and I didn't know how to deal with him or if I should._

" _You hungry?" James asked, popping his head out of the fridge._

" _No," I said._

 _Garrett was his usual quiet self. He's gone back to being a man of very few words, and it was driving me crazy. We had spent all that time together and now he was simply brushing me off._

" _Are you okay?" James asked, placing some cheese and eggs on the bench._

" _Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I stressed, throwing my hands up in the air in frustration. "I'm fine. Fucking fine, peachy in fact."_

" _You're feisty this morning," Anthony said. I turned around and smacked right into his chest. He wrapped his arms around my waist and stood frozen on my spot, not knowing if I should move away or push him off of me, and if I did, what would he do?_

 _I still hadn't gotten used to this side of Anthony. The monster in him, I was accustomed to. I knew what to expect from that side of him. But this, this was a side of Anthony that had me feeling...I don't even know what. I was already so confused and my head was all over the place, Anthony behaving this way, it only messed with me further._

" _What the hell are you doing here?" Edward's voice sounded through the room. I thought he had left, but I had been wrong._

 _Edward was beside me in a heartbeat pulling me away from his brother and putting distance between the three of us._

" _Relax brother, I was just making sure my sister-in-law was okay. She looks a little sick to me," Anthony said, cocking his head to one side as he eyed me up and down. There was nothing sexual in his gaze, in fact, he appeared to be concerned._

" _She's fine," Edward said._

" _You sure about that, brother?"_

" _What are you doing here, Anthony?" Edward asked, stepping in front of me, blocking me from his brother's gaze._

" _Since you_ _no_ _longer answer your phone, you left me with no other choice. I thought you would like to know that my people_ _have_ _found Tanya," Anthony said. That got Edward's attention. He let go_ _of me_ _and moved towards his brother._

" _What about the other two?" Edward asked._

" _Just her. She was at Victoria's."_

" _Victoria?" I asked. She was a person who offered me comfort when I needed it the most. Both_ _she_ _and I we were trapped in this world together, and I missed her a lot. She was the only real friend I had made in this new world._

" _Let's go, brother. I don't think you want your wife knowing your business," Anthony smirked, licking his lips._

 _Edward turned back to me. He kissed me on the top of the head. "I'll be back later. Please eat something," he said. "Hey, look at me." He cupped my face in between his hands. He gave me no other choice but to look at him. His eyes searched mine, for what? I don't know. He closed his eyes and kissed_ _me_ _. It was different from before. It was gentle, soft, and almost pleading and it made me weak._

 _I watched the two brother's leave the apartment. Garrett walked behind them, punching a code into the door, trapping us,_ _well_ _me, in the apartment._

 _There was a part of me, a big part, that didn't want to hate Edward. No matter what had happened to me these past months, no matter how many promises he had made and broken to me, he was trying to make it better, he was trying to make me better. I wanted to let him. So many times I wanted nothing more than to crumble in his arms and let myself be comforted by him. The one thing that stopped me_ _was that_ _Edward killed me. Edward killed Isabella and that was worse than anything Anthony had put me through._

 _Anthony had taken me from my home, from my life, but Edward had killed my hope. Edward accomplished the job for his brother. Edward broke me._

 _ **~DINY~**_

 _It was well past midnight and Edward hadn't come back, and once again I couldn't sleep._

 _Garrett was asleep in one of the bedrooms which left James on duty with me._

 _He sat in bed next to me watching tv. The irony, Taken was being played_ _on the TV_ _. I laughed, and James laughed along with me._

" _Yeah, I know, right?" James said._

" _At least she gets a happy ending," I said, staring at the screen._

 _Watching this made me think of Victoria. I wonder what had happened to her before she ended up being rescued? I wondered who it was that helped her? I doubt it was Edward or Anthony. She did say he was a father figure to her. Maybe it was Edward and Anthony's father?_

 _I looked at James, at the pained expression on his face as he watched this movie. I wondered what was going on through his head as well._

" _What are you thinking about?" I asked._

" _Nothing for you to worry about," he said, giving me a sad smile._

" _Are you thinking about your sister?"_

" _Yeah, I am," he admitted._

" _You know, Victoria…" I_ _tailed_ _off. It hit me like a ton of bricks, and I wondered how the hell had I not put two and two together earlier. Both_ _of_ _their stories were so similar, they were identical._

 _James had a sister who had run away ten years ago. Victoria had a brother she had run away from._

 _Both their parents died at the same age in the same way._

 _Victoria admitted to doing drugs. James said he knew his sister had started taking drugs._

 _Could it be? Was it possible that James's sister had been right under his nose this whole time? He said he had never met Victoria personally, he never had a reason or a job to go there._

 _Was Victoria really Victoria? Or was Victoria_ _actually_ _Irina, James's sister?_

" _Isabella?" James called out, waving his hand frantically in front of my face. "Are you okay? Please don't pass out on me again," he begged._

" _James," I said, jumping off of the bed. "You've never seen Victoria right?"_

" _What does that have to do…"_

" _Yes or no?"_

" _No, I haven't. Why?"_

" _Oh wow," I said, staring at him in disbelief._

" _Hey, what's going on? You're scaring me here," he said._

" _When I was over there,_ _she_ _and I, we sort of talked about things, life, our life. She said something about her family, her brother," I said, watching James's reaction._

 _He got up_ _off_ _of the bed, swallowing the lump the lump in his throat. He stared at me with a mask on his face, not giving anything away._

" _What did she say?" He finally asked._

" _She said, her parents died. She said she ran away because she didn't know how to deal with the pain."_

 _James slumped down on the bed, putting his hands in his hair. "It can't be her," he mumbled. "She couldn't have been that close to me this whole time and I didn't know."_

" _James." I sat next him, placing my hand on top of his knee. "I'm sorry," I said. Why did I open my mouth? Why did I tell him this? There is a chance that it's all coincidental, Victoria may not even be his sister._

" _Why are you apologizing?"_

" _I…"_

 _The loud explosion made both James and_ _me_ _jump to our feet. It was sudden, unexpected, and powerful, it made the walls shake._

" _What was that?" I asked, panicked._

" _I don't know. Stay here," James said, pulling out his gun._

" _No, please." I didn't give him another choice. I followed closely behind him as he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, down the hallway and into the main living area. There was a smoky haze around us, but the body on the floor was unmissable. A man stood over Garrett's body with his own gun drawn._

 _Everything happened so fast. The gun went off. James's body slumped to the floor in front of me. I screamed when I saw the large hole in his head. I dropped to knees beside him, shaking him. This wasn't real, it couldn't be. James wasn't dead, he wasn't allowed to be, he had to find his sister. James couldn't die, not like this._

 _The gunman's_ _footsteps echoed through the room. He stopped in front of me, crouching down to my level, his gun pointed in my face._

" _Hello, Isabella."_


	36. Chapter 36

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **This chapter contains graphic violence and may offend some people. Please do not read if this offends you.**_

 _ **ANTHONY CULLEN.**_

 _Tanya made the stupid mistake to seek out Victoria, although the idea was not her's but her father-in-law's. What a gentleman Aro was, sending his son's wife to do his dirty work._

 _As it turned out,_ _of the two_ _guards that took shifts at the house, one was a close friend of Caius's and the other was Tanya's_ _step-brother_ _. Caius's friend, well, he was swimming with the fish right now, but Tanya's_ _step-brother_ _had managed to sneak away leaving Tanya to face the music alone._

 _I had Tanya chained down in the basement of my bar. The delusional bitch thought she could play us. She thought we might give a damn and go easy on her because she was_ _a_ _female._

 _She betrayed the family, she helped her husband and father-in-law with whatever plan they_ _had_ _. Male or female, you don't go against the family. Tanya had signed her own death sentence._

 _My brother was crouched down beside her, moving the hair out of her bloodied face._

" _You're a coward," she spat out. "Hitting a woman. You're a pig."_

" _Tell us what we want to know, Tanya, and I will let you go," my brother said._

" _Fuck you. I have nothing to tell you." My brother stood up, rubbing his eyes. I had to hand it to him, he was trying hard to hold back._

"" _I'm trying my fucking best to be nice to you, Tanya," he said._

 _I cracked my neck and my fingers. Stalking over to where the two of them were. I stood next to my brother grinning down at Tanya._

 _I straddled her on the chair, not giving a damn about my weight. I grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back to a painful angle._

" _You listen to me, you fucking bitch. You think you've had it rough up until now, you haven't experienced anything yet," I said. "I will bring you close to death and take it away again and again and again, until you tell me everything that I want to know, you got that?"_

" _Go ahead, do your worst. They know where I am. They're coming for me and when they do, you two are as good as dead," she said._

 _Behind us, my brother let out a humorous chuckle. "Oh, Tanya, they don't know where you are," he said._

" _I have a tracker. You two are fucked," she said smugly._

" _You mean the tracker in your bracelet?" My brother asked, now standing behind her bent head. "Shame about that bracelet. It's now swimming with Paulo."_

 _It took her a moment for my brother's words to register, but when it finally clicked into her head, her face turned white making my brother and I laugh in her face._

" _Now, shall we try this again," I said. "What is Aro up to?"_

" _They will still find me," she insisted. "Caius will find me."_

" _You think your fucking husband cares about you? You think any of them care about you?" I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. "Wake the fuck up. They sent you to do their dirty work. They knew you would get caught."_

 _Tanya stayed quiet as she chewed_ _on her lip. At one point I thought she was going to bite it right off. She couldn't be this stupid. She had to realize that she was, well, fucked._

" _If I were you right now, Tanya," my brother said. "I would do as I was told. I'm going to offer you a way out here. You tell me what I want to know and then I'll get you go."_

" _Just like that?" She questioned._

" _Just like that."_

" _What's the catch?"_

" _There's no catch here. I'm not playing any games. If you cooperate with us, then you can leave with your life. If not…" My brother shrugged._

 _Tanya still said nothing. After a long moment of silence, I think she needs a little persuasion. In the corner of the room there was a steel toolbox. Digging through it, I found my weapon of choice, a pair of wire_ _cutters_ _._

 _I turned around waving the snipers in her face._

" _Let's begin, shall we," I said._

" _W...w...what are you doing?" She stuttered staring at the_ _cutters_ _in my hand._

" _These, well, here's how this is going to work. We ask a question and you give us an answer. If you don't, snip, snip, snip," I said, running the tool across my fingers._

" _Um…" She panicked looking from Edward to me._

" _The choice is yours," my brother said. "Where's Aro?" He asked._

" _I don't know," she said._

" _Alright." My brother untied her hands. He held one of her arms out._

" _No, no, no, please," she screamed. "I swear I don't know. They never told me, please."_

 _I was never one for the theatrics. Sure, I enjoyed my fun when I interrogated someone, but even I had limits. My brother enjoyed dragging out his victims pain just as much as I did, but the truth was, he enjoyed it more than I did. He had a monster in him that would put mine to shame, but he also had the self control of a saint._

 _Tanya let out an ear piercing scream, the sound of which made my chest vibrate._

" _Now, if you're good, that finger can be_ _sewn_ _back_ _on._ _You see how he cut it, you see the angle," Edward said, admiring her bloodied hand. If only my little lamb were here to see the look of adoration on my brother's face as he admired Tanya's finger._

" _Come on, Tanya," I said, dragging the tip of the_ _cutter_ _along her cheek. "What's Aro's plan?"_

" _I don't know," she yelled out._

" _Brother." Edward held his hand out for the snipers._

" _No, no, no. Please, wait, please," Tanya cried._

" _I am not a very patient man, Tanya. I have already made you a deal. The ball is in your court," my brother said._

" _Aro has had it in for Carlisle since he refused to promote Caius," she said._

" _Keep going," my brother said, waving the snipers in her face._

 _Tanya was hesitant as she looked around the room. She looked at me with pleading eyes and tried to catch a glimpse of my brother standing behind her. But Edward placed firm hands on her shoulders, making her wince in pain as she tried to shrug away from him._

" _Please," she cried out in agony._

" _I made you a fucking deal, didn't I. Keep to your part and I'll keep to mine," my brother said._

" _There_ _are_ _only so many hours that finger can last and still be reattached," I reminded her, as I looked down at the digit laying next to my shoe._

" _Aro wants you both dead," she rushed out. The thing about Tanya, she was gullible and like her husband, she was stupid. I could see it, she in all honesty believed that what my brother had promised her_ _was_ _genuine._

" _What's his plan?" I asked._

" _Heidi was supposed to kill Edward on the wedding night and then Caius was to come after you."_

 _We had been right, Aro had insisted my brother marry Heidi because she had a job to fulfill. But the idea of Aro sending his son after me, I had to laugh at the thought itself. That was something we would never see, but I would have loved the opportunity._

" _Obviously that plan didn't work. Aro never banked on Edward having someone else. I don't know what his plan is now. You have to believe me. I'm telling the truth," she cried._

" _I find that hard to believe," my brother said, finally stepping around to face her. "What were you doing at the house?"_

" _I was there to pick Paulo, Rossie, and a package. I was supposed to drive them to…" she trailed off, hesitating again._

" _Drive them where?" I asked, tapping her knee with the_ _cutters_ _I had snatched out of my brother's hand._

 _I could hear the vibration of Edward's phone in his pocket beside me. He pulled it out of his pants, his face concerned as he looked at the screen._

" _Garrett," he said, stepping away from us. "Speak up. What's the...What the fuck is going on?"_

 _My brother's whole body tensed. He turned around, his attention solely on Tanya as the phone slipped from his hand, breaking into two pieces as it hit the ground._

" _Where is my wife?" He asked, the words coming out of his mouth in slow pants._

" _What?" Tanya and I said in uni_ _s_ _on._

" _They wouldn't. I can't believe. He promised me…" Tanya mumbled._

" _WHERE THE FUCK IS MY WIFE!" My brother yelled, charging at Tanya. He tackled her to the ground, wrapping his hands around her neck._

 _His words finally sunk in. Where is his wife? Someone_ _has the_ _little lamb? Caius, Aro, fuck._

 _We needed to find them and Tanya was our only shot of tracking Aro down, she wouldn't be good to us dead right now._

 _But my brother had snapped. I knew my brother, I knew that look on his face and in his eyes. He was past the point of reason. He left me with no other choice._

 _I put the barrel of my gun behind his head, pushing it firmly against his skull._

" _She needs to tell us where they are, brother. She can't do that if she's dead," I said._

 _Tanya gasped for air and with what strength she had left, she clawed at my brothers hands around her neck, but no matter what, he wouldn't let go._

" _Stop it or we are never going to find your wife," I said. That got his attention. He loosened his grip around her neck, but didn't let go._

" _Where are they?" he asked._

" _I…" Tanya struggled to regain her breath._

" _Don't tell me you don't know," my brother said._

" _Carlisle's office," she rasped out._

" _Don't fucking lie to me."_

" _I'm not, I swear. That's where I was supposed to_ _go_ _after_ _the pickup_ _."_

 _My brother grabbed her face between his hands and pounded her head repeatedly against the concrete floor until she made no more noise._

 _This was the side of him that his wife should see. This was the monster within him, a monster that he struggled to control. But oh the fun_ _that happened_ _when that monster came out to play._


	37. Chapter 37

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **This chapter contains graphic violence and may offend some people. Please do not read if this offends you.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN.**_

 _This had all been a set up. We were meant to find Tanya. She was only a distraction for Aro to set his plan into motion. But that meant that Aro had more men working with him than I had first thought. But I bet Aro never banked on Tanya opening her mouth. He should have never trusted her, Tanya was every bit as stupid as her husband._

 _But why would Aro take Isabella? I had never given him a reason to believe that she meant anything to me, and marriage didn't prove anything. Aro had to have recognized her. He had worked closely with Charles, he had to have done his homework, he had to have seen her face in the media._

 _The cars pulled up outside my father's office. It was well past midnight, but the street was still filled with people, but I didn't care. I climbed out of the car with the gun in my hand. Emmett and my brother had climbed out after me, as our backup followed after us._

 _I didn't know how many men Aro had working with him, but the chances were_ _that_ _it was_ _a_ _very small group. Very few were willing to betray the family because they knew, no matter what, they would not live to enjoy their new freedom. I had five of our men come with us all prepared and ready._

" _Stairs," my brother said._

" _No. They're expecting us to take the stairs. We'll be ambushed before we make it up there," I said._

" _We need to be quick. I've already got someone messing with the security cameras," Emmett said. "Aro set this up here for a reason. If he fails, he has proof that you have her, there may even be a chance he_ _tipped_ _of_ _f_ _the feds."_

 _Emmett had a point. Deep down I know he was right, but I wasn't a reasonable man right now. I was a man on a mission. If Aro, or any of them had so much as hurt one hair on her head...They would die anyway._ _How they died depended_ _on the condition that my wife was in._

 _We took the last elevator on the left up. It would stop the furthest from my father's office and hopefully that would buy us some time before they knew we were there, so we knew how many we were up against._

 _When the elevator reached it's destination, our men stepped out into the hallways first. There was no one guarding the elevators. Like predicted, they were waiting by the doors to the fire escape. Taking them out was easy. Emmett had a silencer on his piece. They never saw it coming, they never had a chance to react._

 _I went ahead of them towards my father's office. I stopped when I heard Aro's voice. From where I was, I could see Aro, Caius and Tanya's step-brother, Rossie. But I couldn't see Isabella._

" _I recognized you from that night I saw you with Anthony," Aro said. "And now here you are, married to the other brother. Tell me, Isabella, how did you manage that?"_

" _What do you want?"_ _With a muffled sob,_ _Isabella asked._

" _You have interfered with my plan, little love. He was meant to marry someone else. He was meant to be dead now, his family should all be dead now," Aro yelled. "My son should be Don right now, not that weak piece of crap."_

 _I saw Caius reach for something. He pulled Isabella up towards him. Her shirt was torn and blood was pooling down the side of her face._

" _I can see what the appeal is to her, father. It's a shame Anthony never sold her, she would have been fun. But I guess I can still have my fun with you now before I kill you," Caius said._

 _I walked into the room, taking Rossie our first. There were four others in here that were hidden out of sight._

 _Caius pushed Isabella onto his father's lap. Aro didn't hold onto her but the barrel of his gun was positioned under her chin._

" _If any one of you shoots, I kill her," Aro said. "Put your guns down or she dies."_

" _You're not in a position to make demands," my brother said._

" _I think I am, dear godson. Edward, tell them to drop their weapons or I will blow her head right off while you watch," Aro demanded._

 _On the outside I kept my calm, but on the inside, the monster in me had been let loose and he had his sights set on one thing and one thing alone, Aro._

" _Fine. They lower their weapons, but you let her go," I said._

" _No, I don't think I will, godson."_

 _I chuckled. When it came down to it, Aro was a smart man, but he was a stupid_ _kind of_ _smart. He could have had the perfect plan, but we outnumbered them and Aro, no matter what his threats, he wouldn't kill Isabella._

" _Five," I said._

" _Five what, Edward?" He asked._

" _Four."_

" _You stupid boy," he said, pushing the barrel of the gun further under Isabella's chin. She let out a small cry looking at me helplessly through her tears. All I had to do was keep my calm, continue to show him that no matter what he did, I was not affected._

" _Three...Two…"_

" _Father?" Caius said._

" _One," I said, snapping my fingers. All hell broke loose. The gun fire could be heard all around me. I saw blood. I saw bodies hit the floor and I didn't know who's._

 _My sight, my focus was on one thing. All the noise around me, everyone else, vanished._

 _With each step I took towards them, Aro's eyes widened in fear. He would not kill Isabella because he was a coward, a fool._

" _Shoot her," I said, as I stood next to them, looking down at him. I couldn't bare to look at her, not now. "Come on. Aro, pull the trigger," I insisted, placing my own gun in between his eyes. "Do it."_

" _Edward, please," Isabella cried softly. Her hand grabbed onto my pants, pulling tightly._

" _Isabella, look at me," I said. My eyes remained on Aro. I fired the shot. His blood splattered on both Isabella and I. His grip on the gun loosened and it fell to the floor at my feet._

 _Isabella didn't move to get up. Her whole body was shaking, she was breathing very hard. I grabbed a hold of her lifting her up off of the dead body._

" _I got you, dolcezza," I said, holding her as close to me as I possibly could_ _at_ _this moment. She wrapped her arms around me tight, shaking in my arms. I was scared to death that she was going to pass out at any second._

" _Make it stop, please," she cried, putting her hands over her ears._

" _It's almost over," I said. I didn't know what was happening behind me, who was dead and who wasn't._

" _Fuck," Emmett cursed._

 _I turned around to see my brother on the floor, Emmett was hovering over him. "Shit. Fuck, Edward, he needs help," Emmett yelled._

" _Fuck," I said, letting_ _go of_ _Isabella. I crouched down beside my brother. His stomach was bright red. I pulled his shirt up revealing his wound. 'We're going to get you out of here. Hang in there," I said._

" _Brother, stop," he rasped out. "This… This is bad. I'm not...I can't."_

" _Don't you fucking say that. I'm not going to let you die here."_

 _I stood up, looking around. Everyone else was okay. Beside Isabella's head wound and Anthony, we were all fine. Aro was dead, Caius and Rossie were dead, as were the other four._

" _Emmett, call Leo, and tell him we're on our way," I said. Leo was Emmett's cousin, he was a doctor at Presbyterians who had done a lot of back door calls for us. I couldn't take my brother through the ER, they would ask questions, they would call cops. Leo had always helped us, he had set us up with the best. Anthony was going to be okay._

 _Isabella kneeled down beside Anthony. I didn't know what she was thinking right now. Her body had stopped shaking as she picked my brother's hand up. I had taken my jacket o_ _f_ _f, putting pressure with it on my brother's wound._

" _Little lamb," he whispered._

" _Shh, don't talk," Isabella said._

" _I'm going to die," Anthony said._

" _You are not fucking dying on me," I said._

" _You need to hold on for_ _a_ _little bit," Isabella said. "They are going to get you help, you're going to be okay."_

" _No." My brother shook his head. He turned his body in her direction, groaning in pain._

" _Stop moving," I said. He flipped me off as he began a fit of coughs, spitting out blood._

" _Anthony," Isabella cried out. "Do something," she said, looking at me._

" _The ambulance_ _is_ _downstairs, the guys are on their way up," Emmett said._

" _Hey, little lamb," Anthony said. With what strength he had, he reached out and grabbed her behind the neck, pulling her face down closer to his._

" _I...I'm sorry, for everything."_

" _Anthony, stop it. The ambulance is here, you're going to be okay," she said._

" _No, no, I'm going to die."_

" _No you're not."_

" _Please Isabella," he said, pulling her further down to him. "If I could have, I would have loved you," he said, kissing her before his whole body went_ _limp_ _._

" _Anthony." Isabella shook him. "Anthony, open your eyes," she said._

" _Shit." I heard Emmett say._

 _I fell on my backside, not believing, not wanting to accept. This isn't happening, it couldn't. I stared at my bloodied hands, covered in the blood of my own brother._

 _It didn't matter how many people I had killed or how many I had witnessed be_ _ing_ _killed. Family was family. Family was different. Anthony was my twin, one half of me. Regardless of how fucked up he was and what he had done, I felt as if some part of me was laying dead on the floor right now. I needed to pull it together and stand up. My own men couldn't see me in this state right now._

 _The EMTS Leo had sent reached the floor, they stopped dead in their tracks. They hadn't expected a dead body._

 _I stood up off the floor and gathered Isabella with me. She was in shock. Her whole body was stiff, but she hadn't taken her eyes off of Anthony._

" _Stop looking at him," I said, turning her around in my arms and burying her face in my chest._

" _Are you okay?" She asked._

" _Don't worry about me, bambolina. I'll be fine."_

" _We need to go now," Emmett said. "My guy has messaged me. He's tampered with the security cameras, but the police are on their way."_

" _Emmett, take Isabella to... I don't know, anywhere. Get her the fuck out of here," I said, handing her over to Emmett._

" _Where are you going?" She said._

" _Go, now," I yelled at them._

 _By the time the police came, the EMTS left and so did I. I left my brother's body there because there needed to be a story, a covered up. With my brother, Caius and Aro there, well, it would look like business gone wrong._

 _Emmett left me a car downstairs. I drove around for hours until the gas ran out. The car stopped in the middle of the street. I left it there. I walked the rest of the way to my mothers. When I walked in the front door, she already knew. She was on her knees on the floor clutching a picture of my brother in her hand. I kneeled down beside her, holding her, sharing her pain. She had lost a son and I had lost a brother, but we would be okay, we had to be._


	38. Chapter 38

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature reade**_

 _ **MARIE CULLEN (ISABELLA)**_

 _ **SIX MONTHS AFTER.**_

 _I was numb. Emotionally, I had shut down. After Anthony's death, things changed, everyone changed._

 _Esme had lost a child, that sort of pain, it would take a long time to recover from, if she could ever recover from something like that._

 _Edward, these past months had become distant yet suffocating at the same time. Emotionally, he was distant although he did have his brief moments when he would open up. I think in some way he feels responsible for his brother's death. But in a situation like that, Edward had no control over the outcome. There was nothing that he could have done._

 _I didn't know how to handle Anthony's death. Anthony had tortured me, he had abused me, and had done horrible things to me. Yet I didn't have any satisfaction from his death._

 _I had watched the life leave his body. I had my hands stained_ _with_ _his blood, but I didn't feel a thing, not satisfaction, not regret, or sympathy or sorrow. When it came to Anthony, it was as if my emotions refused to function. They refused to tell me the truth._

 _Garrett didn't die that night, but he had been badly injured. He's okay now. He was still watching over me._

 _I missed James every day. In the short time that I had known him, he had become more of a brother figure towards me. James was the big brother I never knew I wanted, but wished I had._

 _My heart bled for him. He died without ever being reunited with his sister. I hoped wherever James was now, he could look down and see that his sister was alive and she was okay._

 _I never told Garrett or even Edward about James and Victoria. It was too personal, too much. It was a secret I would take with me forever. If I ever saw Victoria again, I would tell her about her brother and how hard he had tried to find her._

 _Edward had given me more freedom, like he had promised. But freedom came at a cost. I wasn't allowed anywhere without him or Garrett present. I wasn't even allowed to be alone with his mother. Edward had changed over these months, he was colder, harder._

 _I always preferred going out with Garrett. With him, it was easy to forget that he wasn't with me. He would walk next to me, but he would never touch me or say a word. I appreciated Garrett more, unlike Edward, who hovered over me, sometimes it was suffocating. He was almost possessive, no, he had become possessive._

 _Edward called this freedom, but it was anything but. I couldn't leave the house without his permission. Garrett couldn't even come with me for a walk in the park without getting Edward's approval first. They wouldn't even tell me the security code for the door. This wasn't freedom, it was only a better prison cell._

 _When Anthony died, Edward never let me attend his funeral. But, today after months of begging him, he had finally caved in._

 _I thought, maybe if I had the chance to say goodbye, I might be able to finally feel something, even anger I didn't care I would welcome it._

 _Standing in front of Anthony's grave, nothing happened. I still felt nothing. It frustrated me to no relief because I didn't understand why I needed to feel something towards him, why I needed to label an emotion to describe his death._

 _Anthony! The man that ruined my life. The man that abused me. The man confused me beyond words._

 _Standing at his grave, memory after memory of everything that he had done to me, every time he touched me, every word he spoke to me came flooding back and still nothing._

" _Are you okay?" Garrett asked._

" _I'm fine." I sighed, defeated._

" _Are you finished? We have to go, Mr. Cullen's been calling non-stop asking about you."_

 _Of course he was, I thought. He had to know where his prisoner was at all times._

 _Many times I often wondered what death would be like? Would it ease the pain? Would it really be a freedom? Or would it trap me in another hell?_

 _Death!_

 _Dying!_

 _The thought became more and more appealing every single day. There were days that I wished for death. I wished that I could go to bed and never wake up again._

" _Garrett, before we go, can you take me to someone's grave?" I asked._

" _Whose_ _?"_

" _Mine."_

 _~DINY~_

 _I laid the single white rose next to the headstone. Kneeling by the grave, I brushed my fingers along the cold stone._

 _"I'm sorry," I said, willing myself not to cry, not any more. All of this could have been avoided, no one had to die, none of this had to happen. But it's funny, isn't it, the turn your life takes and the places it leads you. I wondered who was in there? Who had they killed for me?_

 _I closed my eyes and sighed, letting the tears fall. No one would see me crying here._

 _I wish things were different. But no amount of wishing or praying would change what had happened, I learned that a long time ago._

 _I heard the footsteps behind me. Garrett couldn't even give me five minutes alone. I can't be mad at him though, he brought me here without Edward's knowledge, this hadn't been part of the plan. If Edward were to find out...Well, I hope he didn't, lord know_ _s_ _I wouldn't tell him._

 _"Hello, Isabella." That voice wasn't Garrett's, that voice was one I have never heard before._

 _I wondered where Garrett was. Why had he allowed this stranger to come up to me, a stranger that knew me by name. A stranger that called me by my name, a name that only Edward calls me now. I was no longer Isabella, I was Marie to the world._

 _The stranger kneeled down beside me. I could feel his eyes on me. I turned to look at him. It couldn't be, he was in jail, he was locked away. How could he be here?_

 _"You're..." I trailed off, staring at the man. Edward was a spitting image of their father._

 _"I am," he said._

 _"I thought you were in jail?" I blurted the words right out without thinking._

 _"I was. But I have served my time now," he said, continuing to stare at me._

 _"Why are you here?" I asked my father-in-law, and only moments later did I realize what a stupid question that was._

 _He chuckled, pinching the tip of his nose. "You would think my first priority would be to go and see my wife," he said. "But, my first priority is you."_

 _"Are you going to kill me?" I asked. I haven't feared death for a long time, but I didn't know what to expect from this man. I didn't know what he wanted from me._

 _"If I wanted you dead, Isabella, believe me, you would have been dead a long time ago, daughter-in-law or not," he said, taking my hand in his and resting it on his knee. "No apology will ever be good enough for what my son's have done. You, should have never been involved in any of this. What Anthony did was the worst of all."_

 _"How do you know what he did?" I asked, shifting my knees on the dirt so I was facing him._

 _"I may not have been here to stop it, but I knew everything that was happening. I have eyes everywhere Isabella."_

 _"What do you want from me now?" I asked, confused as to why he was here with me now instead of going home to his wife and his family._

 _"I want to offer you a way out, away from all of this. I can give you your old life back," he said._

 _I wanted to laugh at his words, but he held a dominating presence and I don't think my laughter would be taken as anything other than disrespect._

 _"I'm dead to the world. I don't think that would work," I said._

 _"I have people that will come up with a convincing story. Or, I can take you away from here, go start another life somewhere else far away from here, away from my son," he said._

 _I closed my eyes and could not stop the tears that fell. I had no fight in me. I had lost hope a long time ago and I couldn't play these games anymore._

" _Mr. Cullen, please, I'm begging you. If you're going to kill me, I'm right here, please do it, I won't scream, I won't fight, but I can't play these games anymore, please," I cried._

" _I am not playing games with you, Isabella. I will not force you to leave, I will not make you do anything you do not want to do. If you want to stay here, if you want to stay with my son, then I will accept that. But if you want to leave, I will make it happen," he said, wiping the tears off of my face._

 _Did I want to leave? Could I? This sounded almost too good to be true. What about Edward, how would he react if I were_ _to up an_ _d leave?_

" _Would you like to see your mother?" He asked._

" _What?" I almost yelled. What the hell had he done to my mother?_

" _I had someone track her down. Did you know she has moved from the city?"_

" _No, I didn't," I said._

" _Here," he said, handing me his phone. He opened up his messages from a contact only labeled as D. There was a video attachment. "This was only sent an hour ago."_

 _He played the video for me. My mother was sitting_ _inside_ _a cafe with a small group of people, three other women, one I recognized. She looked happy, smiling. I covered my mouth to muffle the sob that left my mouth._

 _My mom, I missed her so much. She looked different. It had been over a year since the last time I had seen her this close, touched her or smelled her. She always smelled of cherry blossoms._

" _I can take you to your mother right now," he said._

" _No," I said, handing him the phone._

" _Are you sure? Isabella, I can make all this go away."_

" _I know my mother, Mr. Cullen. She believes I'm dead, I know how hard that had to be for her to accept, to move on from. She looks happy there. I don't want to do anything to take that happiness away from her. If I suddenly reappeared, it would kill her, she couldn't handle it," I said, wiping my eyes. "She looks happy, at peace almost._ _She_ _and my dad, they'll be okay without me."_

 _It hurt a lot to see that footage of my mother. I wondered where my father was though? Was he as happy as mom was? Had he found peace in all of this? I know mom would take care of him. They believed I was dead, and that was probably better because if I were to go back to them, I wasn't the same person anymore. I was broken, damaged beyond repair._

 _Mr. Cullen offered me a small smile. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled into his arms. He let me cry on his shoulder, he comforted me rubbing his hands up and down my back._

" _Isabella, you need to make your decision now. This will be the only time I can get you away from my son. I don't know when the next chance will be," he said._

 _It was_ _a_ _simple decision really, one I didn't need to put much thought into. I only hoped that Edward would never find out._

" _I want to leave."_


	39. Chapter 39

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EDWARD CULLEN.**_

 _Life had a funny way of messing with you. Just when you thought things were starting to go right, life grabs you by the balls and spins you around, laughing in your face saying 'just kidding.'_

 _I always knew my brother would die young. I always expected him to do something careless, something reckless that would see his end._

 _Anthony was my twin and I loved him, still love him. I was broken, torn over his death because it hurt. I had watched him die. I witnessed him take his last breath. I should have done something, anything._

 _My mother, she...She handled herself well. She mourned, yes, but she pulled through. Maybe, just like me and my father, she had prepared herself a long time ago for this. She knew how reckless Anthony could be at times. She knew this life and she knew how quickly a life could end, maybe._

 _No matter what, the pain would subside, over time it would get better. Our family, while it won't ever be the same, it would pull through, because we always did._

 _Isabella was different though. She wasn't accustomed to death, she was not accustomed to witnessing the horror that she had. She was an innocent person in a dark place. She had witnessed Anthony's death, held onto his bloodied hand. The last words he spoke to her...I wanted so desperately to be able to get inside her head and know exactly what was going on in there._

 _I didn't know what to expect from her after that night. I didn't know what sort of reaction I deemed appropriate for her to have._

 _She surprised when she asked if I would take her to Anthony's funeral. At the time that was something that wasn't possible. There was a heavy police presence around. There had been a crowd of over three hundred people that had attended my brother's funeral. That wasn't a chance I willing to take with Isabella._

 _After everything that my brother had put her through, the last thing I thought she would have wanted was to say goodbye to him. I expected her to be happy that he was dead,_ _joyous_ _even. But she was none of those things, in fact, I don't know how she felt about it, if she felt anything at all._

 _Every day since the funeral, she had asked me time and time again_ _if I would let her_ _visit his grave, she wouldn't tell me why though. I had refused her, time and time again, I told her no, although I don't know why._

 _It had been six months and things with Isabella have gotten both better and worse._

 _She talks to me, that's a good sign, but emotionally, I don't know what to make of her._

 _I'm trying my best. I'm trying to help her as much as I can, but it's as if she doesn't want to be helped._

 _She has her days when I finally think I'm breaking through some of her walls, but the moment doesn't last, it's as if she won't let herself be happy. I haven't seen her smile in a long time, not even a fake one. I was hoping I could change that today. I was hoping that if I gave her what she wanted, I could see her smile at least for a brief moment._

 _I walked into our bedroom to find her still asleep. I didn't want to wake her, but I had business to attend to and I had to leave._

 _My sister had made a strong case against the state. There had been no warrant for our father's arrest. There had been no warrant to search his premises. Everything they had, every bit of evidence was thrown out the window. Rosalie had presented everything at the hearing. Charles Swan's involvement with my father. Aro, who at the time was also my father's lawyer, feeding information to the DA. Aro even saved evidence of the transactions he had made in the fraud charges against my father. The judge had no choice but to drop the charges against our father and clear his conviction. My sister was very proud of herself, and our father even prouder of her. She had done good. She had worked herself almost to the point of insanity, sometimes going without sleep to put this case together and it had all paid off. Our father will be released today. I had offered to pick him up, but he had refused. He said he had some business to attend to first before he came home._

 _I sat beside Isabella and brushed the stray hairs off of her face. She shrugged but didn't wake._

" _Wake up, dolcezza," I said, kissing her cheek. "Come on, amore." I only told her I loved her in her sleep. I don't think she was prepared to hear the words out of my mouth. I think she would take them as a joke. The truth was, I have fallen in love with her and I hoped that one day she would be prepared to hear the words spoken out loud._

" _Isabella," I whispered in her ear. "Come on bambolina, please wake up."_

 _I rubbed my chin against her cheek, hoping that the light stubble I had, would cause her to open her eyes._

 _Her hand came up and tried to push me away. She looked adorable as she scrunched up her nose and rubbed it against the back of her fingers._

" _Why are you waking me up?" She mumbled._

" _I have to go," I said._

" _Go then," she said, turning her back to me and pulling the covers up over her face._

" _Dolcezza, please, I have to tell you something and then you can go back to sleep."_

" _I'm listening," she mumbled from under the covers._

" _Can you please look at me."_

 _She turned on her back and pulled herself up. She pushed the hair out of her face and rubbed the sleep from her eyes._

" _What do you want?" She asked._

" _Weather lady said, the snow should hold back for a few more days. It's nice outside, the sun is out."_

" _You woke me up to tell me about the weather?" She_ _scowled_ _. "Seriously, Edward, who gives a fuck."_

 _She had these moments, these feisty little moments that would come out from time to time if I pushed the right buttons. I guess that had been the real her before she had changed. She had to have been a spitfire, and I wanted so badly to unlock that side of her again or bring it back to life. I think if she were to open that side of her up again, she would give me one hell of a challenge, but it was a challenge I would gladly take._

 _Time, I kept telling myself, with time she would become better, I hoped._

" _I figured since I'll be busy all day and seeing as it's nice outside, I thought Garrett could take you to visit Anthony," I said, watching her closely. Her head snapped up at the mention of my brother's name. She regarded me for a moment, trying to see if maybe I was fooling her, but she had to know me better than that by now._

" _Seriously?"_

" _Yes. I'm sorry that I won't be able to go with you."_

" _That's fine. I prefer Garrett, I mean," she said, staring at me frightened. Obviously she had let that slip out._

 _I wasn't mad at her, I know that she had been deeply affected by James's death. Garrett was here to fill his place._

 _I didn't say anything to her. I leaned over the bed and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek._

" _Be good. I'll see you later tonight, dolcezza," I said._

 _I didn't tell her about my father's release and she would not be meeting him, not until I spoke to him. I wanted to know where he stood with her, if I had a reason to fear for her safety. I know what he said when he had been locked away, but that was then and this is now. If I was to still keep his place, how would he see my marriage?_

 _~DINY~_

 _I had called Garrett many times during the day to make sure that Isabella was alright. It still scared me, her being out in public and possibly being recognized. Her hair was still that same dark shade, darker even, almost pitch black. That had been my mother's doing. She said Isabella would look absolutely beautiful with that shade and she was right. But it was only hair color, it wasn't enough to cover her features. But she didn't have any specific features about her either. She had no birthmarks not even a mole or a freckle anywhere on her body. She had also put on some weight and I had a part to play in that as well because I'm not ashamed to admit, I had been force feeding her. She had been way too thin. She hated it at first, but she would always finish everything I put in front of her._

 _Something felt off. I had called Garrett five times in under two minutes. He would always pick up on the first or second ring. But now, nothing._

" _Will you get off your phone, figlio," my father said._

 _We were all in the dining room. My mother and Sofia had not left my father's side since he had walked through the door._

" _I need to get a hold of Garrett," I said, feeling the panic start in the pit of my stomach._

" _Whatever business you have with him, it can wait for tonight. I haven't spent time with my family in eighteen months, figlio," he said, moving Sofia from one knee to the other._

" _That was a very long trip you went on nonno. Don't leave that long again," Sofia said._

" _I promise you, bambolina, I won't," he said, kissing her on the tip of her nose._

 _I dialed Garrett again, this time my call went straight to voicemail._

" _Garrett, she better be okay or you're a dead man. Answer the fucking phone," I yelled._

" _Edward, watch your language around Sofia," my mother said, narrowing her eyes._

" _What's going on?" Emmett asked._

" _I can't get a hold of Garrett. I need to know where Isa...Marie is."_

" _Your wife is fine and so is Garrett, don't stress yourself, figlio. Eat your food," my father said._

 _I pushed my chair back and stood up walking to the head of the table where my father sat._

" _Sofia, come to nonna," my mother said, holding out her hands. When my niece was off of my father's lap, he stood up. There was a time in my life where I would have feared my father, but I no longer held onto that. The look he was giving me now, it didn't scare me, it didn't move me at all._

" _Edward, what the hell are you doing?" My sister said._

" _Where are they?" I demanded. What the hell had he done? He wouldn't kill them, not without my knowledge, not unless he wanted me to kill him myself._

" _Garrett isn't answer_ _ing_ _because he is busy. I have him doing an important job for me."_

" _Where is my wife?" I asked, taking another step towards him. "What the fuck have you done?"_

" _Your wife is fine, Edward. Sit down now," he demanded, looking at me with cold, hard eyes. He was angry, furious even but he was holding himself back for Sofia. I was at a point where I did not care. I pulled out my gun and put it to my father's head._

 _I heard Sofia's scream as I aimed my weapon on my father._

" _Renta, take Sofia," My mother said._

" _Come on figlio, do it, pull the trigger. Without me, you will never know where she is," he said calmly, holding his arms out._

" _Edward, calm down," Emmett said._

" _Do something," Rosalie yelled._

" _What the fuck have you done? Where is she?"_

" _I have not hurt her, if that is what you want to know," he said, sitting back down. He picked up his knife and fork and cut into his food._

 _I could feel myself slowly losing what little control I had left. I didn't want to kill my father, but if I had to I would. He put his hands on my wife, he had done something to her. That in itself earned him a bullet._

" _Carlisle, just tell him already," my mother said._

" _Listen to your wife, Carlisle," I said, pushing the barrel against his temple. He put his knife and fork back down and sighed deeply._

" _I have sent her away," he said._

" _Away? You sent her away?" I chuckled. "You stupid fuck. Where is she?"_

 _I didn't know what the hell he thought he was playing at. The fact that he had approached my wife, that he had the opportunity to approach my wife. It made me angry with myself that I hadn't taken better precaution to stop it and not give him the opportunity to reach her without my knowledge._

 _Was this my father's business? Is this why he had insisted I not pick him up today? Is this why he had me running errands for him all day, to keep me away?_

" _I offered her a way out, Edward. She should not have been involved in any of this figlio and you know that. I gave you an order. I told you to get rid of her and you didn't. She is a child, figlio and she is in a bad mental state," he said. What the hell did he know that I didn't?_

" _Where is she, father?"_

" _You will only see her again when I think she is ready, and if she does not want to ever come back, then I will not force her."_

" _You can't fucking do this," I yelled._

" _I can and I did. If it were me, I would have had her taken out," he said._

 _My hand shook with the gun in it. The mention of Isabella dead was enough to make me sick, to make me lose my self control._

" _Is that what you're doing now? You made her a promise, you lied_ _to_ _her and you're sending her to be killed?" I was surprised the words left my mouth as calmly as they did. But that's what happens when the monster in me surfaces. He_ _is_ _calm and he bid_ _e_ _s his time. My father had made the monster come_ _out_ _and he would not be satisfied until he paid for the wrongs he has done._

" _If I wanted to kill her Edward, I would have," he said._

" _Carlisle, please," my mother begged with tears in her eyes. "Edward, put the gun down, please."_

" _She needs a chance at a normal life, Edward, and she cannot have one here with you."_

 _My hand shook and the gun slipped from my fingers firing a shot as it hit the floor._

 _My legs felt weak, I felt weak as I fell on my knees. She was gone. She was really gone._

 _She would never come back, deep down inside I knew that, I didn't want to believe it or accept it, but it was the truth. She was gone._


	40. Chapter 40

_**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.**_

 _ **WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.**_

 _ **EPILOGUE.**_

 _ **MARIE CULLEN (ISABELLA)**_

 _ **THREE YEARS LATER.**_

 _ **RAGUSA, SICILIA, ITALIA.**_

 _Mr. Cullen had promised me a way out, and that was exactly what he had given me. I still remember that day three years ago. We left the cemetery, only me and him. He had sent Garrett away and Garrett didn't seem to fight him. It was there that I realized, it was Edward's father who called the shots and not Edward himself. While Edward had the power, his father had the final word._

 _He drove me to Newark airport, right onto the tarmac where a private jet waited. He put a passport in my hand and a ton of cash, it was more money than I had ever seen in my entire life._

 _He said he and Esme would come and visit me, but he had promised me that Edward would never find out where I was and in return I made him promise that nothing bad would happen to Garrett. Because when Edward realize_ _d_ _I was gone, he would no doubt lose it and Garrett would suffer the consequences._

 _Carlisle did promise me, that no matter what, no harm would come to Garrett because of this. I hoped he had kept true to his word. It would not be fair for Garrett to suffer for a decision I had made._

 _Carlisle had all but pushed me on the airplane and promised he would visit in a few months. I had no idea where I was going, all I knew, Carmen and Eleazar would be waiting for me when I landed. At the time I had no idea who they were. The entire flight I was a nervous mess because I had no idea what I was about to be placed into._

 _It turns out Carmen was Carlisles half sister. The product of an affair his father had many years ago with a local young woman._

 _Carmen was absolutely beautiful, she had olive skin, dark hair and the same bright eyes that Carlisle and Edward had._

 _Carmen and Eleazar were very welcoming. They took me into their home and treated me as if I were family. Eleazar had taught me how to speak Italian. It wasn't as easy as I thought, but I managed to pick it up. The more I learned, the more words I began to recognize, words that Edward had called me._

 _Dolcezza, bambolina, fiorellina. Sweetheart, little doll, little flower. They were words that now left me at a loss, but none more so than amore, love. Ti amo tanto. I love you so much. He had said those words to me many nights when he thought I was asleep, when he thought I couldn't hear him. Words that I refused to think about now because it hurt._

 _The first few months had been hard. I didn't know what to do with myself. My mind was all over the place, everything was confusing it made my head spin. The bad dreams started that first night, in all honesty, I'm surprised I never had any before that. All I saw was blood, Aro's dead body, James laying at my feet. Anthony...Anthony's last words to me, they haunted me every night._

 _I had forgiven Anthony for what he had done because I realized if I didn't, I would never be able to really move on myself. But I still felt numb about him. I still did not know what to feel over his death._

 _Carlisle came a few months later like he had promised and he had brought Esme with him. It was nice to see her, to see a familiar face. I was disappointed when Carmen told them of my dreams, of my nightmares. She said she didn't know what to do anymore, she didn't know how to help me through them._

 _Before Carlisle and Esme left, Carlisle had given me a bottle of pills. He told me not to take one every night because they were very strong, but two or three times a week would be fine. I was_ _skeptical_ _at first, but they were sleeping pills. I didn't see the reason for me. My problem wasn't falling asleep, it's what happened in my sleep. But they did help. The pills knocked me right out into a dreamless sleep._

 _Carlisle and Esme come every few months to visit or to check up on me, maybe. I knew that no matter what, or where I was, I would never be free from the Cullen family. But being in Ragusa, I did feel like a normal person again. I was able to walk around the city by myself, I was able to go and buy things for myself, they were simple things, but they were things that back in New York, I wasn't allowed to do because Edward would always be afraid to leave me by myself. Being with Carmen and Eleazar may seem like I'm still trapped but I'm not. I'm free to come and go as I please. I know that Carlisle has people watching me. Two men, always dressed the same, always in the same car, always right behind me. It should bother me, but it doesn't, not anymore._

 _I looked at myself in the mirror one last time, before I put my shoes on and grabbed my bag. I'm already running late and I have a class in thirty minutes. Carmen had helped me find a job at a local dance school._

 _Carmen had helped me back into dancing and I am so thankful that she did. At one point in my life, it was what I had lived for, what I had worked so hard for, it was my escape, my passion. Carmen was right, I shouldn't have to let go of that. Just because I could no longer reach what I had aimed for before did not mean that I had to give it up._

 _I liked teaching. It was exciting and rewarding to watch those kids learn and develop and grow more confident with themselves. The group of little girls I had were amazing. I taught them how to dance and they helped me on my Italian._

" _Marie," Carmen called after me. "Come, eat," she demanded._

" _I'm late, I need to go," I said._

" _I make you something, come." I knew better than to argue with Carmen when it came to food. It was an argument I would never win._

" _Amore, I need to leave very soon," Eleazar said._

 _It was heartbreaking to watch them sometimes. Eleazar was so loving and so attentive to his wife. He worshiped the ground she walked on and Carmen loved him the same passion in return._

 _Sometimes when I watched them, my mind often wander_ _ed_ _to Edward. I always asked Carlisle and Esme how he was whenever they came, but they always avoided the question. Carlisle pretended as if I hadn't said a word. They never spoke of him, not around me._

 _In a messed up way I think I missed him, I couldn't be sure. I wanted to know what he was doing. Was he okay? Had he gotten remarried? Was he with someone else now? I didn't know if our marriage was only for show at the time or if we were still married. I'm sure Edward could make it disappear if he wanted. Although I don't know why that thought hurt me._

 _~DINY_

" _Salto," I said to one of my students. She was a little girl around the same age as Sofia is now. She reminded me of Sofia. The same blonde curly hair and the attitude to match. Sofia was a little firecracker. I had only seen her a few times, it was enough to make me fall in love with her. I wondered if she remembered me?_

" _Si, signora Marie," she said._

 _I still went by Marie, I liked Marie, because Isabella was dead. That part of me was dead, I was no longer that person and I never would be again. I did miss Isabella at times, but I have accepted what my life is now. I have made the best of what I have been offered. I don't think I could have handled being Isabella again._

 _There were times when I thought, maybe I should have taken Carlisle up on his other offer, to give me my old life back with my family. But I would have never been able to handle going back. I loved my parents, I still love them. But I couldn't put them through that. I had seen my mother, I had seen how happy she was and I know it would have taken a lot on her part to be able to smile after everything that had happened. If my parents had found peace, I couldn't, I wouldn't go in there and turn their lives upside down again. It was better this way._

 _My last class had ended twenty minutes ago. All my students had been picked up beside one little girl, whose mother had called and said she would be running late._

 _I closed up the studio as I waited with her outside for her mother to arrive._

 _She was a little girl, only four, I held her in my arms as we waited._

 _I felt odd standing out here. I felt as if someone was watching me, watching us. I knew Carlisle's men were here, I could see_ _their_ _car. But it wasn't their presence I felt. No, whatever or whoever, if anyone was watching me, I felt a buzz, a hum, like my skin had been set on fire. I wasn't afraid, far from it. It was strange and exciting at the same time._

"Signorina Marie," the little girl's mother said, taking her daughter out of my arms. "Grazie."

"Nessun problema. Ci vediamo la prossima settimana," I said, waving them off.

As I turned back around towards the main street. It was there that I saw him coming towards me. My breath caught in my throat with every step he took towards me.

He looked exactly the same only older, more mature as if more time had passed rather than three years. He wore a dark gray suit with no tie. His shoes were impeccably polished, I could probably see my reflection in them.

But what was he doing here? How did he find me? His father had said, he would never find out where I was.

The two men that had followed me around, jumped out of the car and began running towards me, reaching in the back of their pants when they saw what was going on.

Edward put one hand up towards them. They stopped in their tracks. They stood there in the middle of the road with their guns in hand and watched as Edward came towards me.

He stood so close to me, I could smell him, I could see him properly. I could see the small lines around his eyes and the sliver of gray strands that ran through his hair.

His hand reached out towards me, stroking the back of his fingers along my cheek. He was hesitant, almost afraid I would pull away. I couldn't move even if I wanted to. He let out a deep breath when he realized I wasn't going to run. He grabbed my face in his hands. His eyes scanned over every part of me.

"Ciao, dolcezza."

 **Fin...Maybe. ;)**


End file.
